Post-Vday Lovin': In a Bowl

This new cereal, Love Crunch Granola from Nature's Path Organic, is full of good stuff: strawberries, raspberries, dark chocolate, and coconut over flax granola.  (Sounds just like my Valentine's Day Raw White Chocolate Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart!)
The difference is: you can eat this for breakfast.  Not only is it allowable, but it is expected.  And the story behind it is sappy-sweet as well. 
A couple created this recipe as a wedding favor and gave it to their guests.  Though they are living happily ever after with their product hitting Whole Foods and Wegman's shelves, the Love Crunch recipe will only be around for a limited time, so stock up now.
Another bonus: for every box sold, $1 goes to a designated list of microcredit organizations that help give women the chance to create or expand home-based businesses and lift themselves and their families out of poverty.  If you buy a box of Love Crunch in Canada, they'll send another box to a local food bank, similar to Tom's Shoes One-for-One Mission.
So go buy some immediately.  All ingredients are organic, and who knows- maybe it'll spark some morning wood.

-Jane

The Loving Hut: South Street Enigma

I recently did a piece for Philly Broadcaster on the mysterious, but nationally revered founder of the Loving Hut vegan "fast food" restaurant chain: The Supreme Master Ching Hai.  The Loving Hut has sprouted from merely 1 storefront to hundreds of locations worldwide in only 2 years.  After reading an article about this enigmatic Vietnamese chain in VegNews Magazine, (which awarded the restaurant the 2010 Veggie Awards for Reader's Choice Favorite Restaurant) I was truly intrigued. 

This intrigue led to to the Loving Hut Worldwide Website (Prestige Worldwide-wide-wide-wide), which informed me that the first location on the east coast would be.... dun dun dunnn.... on SOUTH ST. IN PHILLY!  So after taking a few visits since it's opening in August, it has become quite an awesome but strange place in my mind.  Undoubtedly, not many people know about this place due to such a non-glamorous storefront.  But their taro bubble tea, sushi, and sandwiches are worth finding.  Read the article to learn mo' bout it.

The Supreme Master Ching Hai's International Broadcast

A Cake for Your Valentine: Two-Way(s)

Wink, wink...

For Valentine's Day, my roomies and I held a lil' pre-Vday Sunday brunch which was themed "No Boys Allowed."  Therefore, we took the opportunity to roll out of bed and eat as many sweets and drink as much exotic tea as possible without the insecurities of prowling man eyes.  And a feast, it was.

Though many dairy and icing-laden cakes and cookies were present, I still repped the veg baking world by making a delicious Strawberry Cream Cheeze Cake with Chocolate Ganache.

But the richest dessert, I saved for my valentine: a TOTALLY Raw White Chocolate Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart!  After searching for recipe among recipe, I settled on this raw gem, because it was comprised of some of the most voluptuous aphrodisiacs knows to man.

Soaked almonds made the yellow (surprisingly buttery-looking) crust.  Almonds supply a generous dose of Vitamin E, which obviously "moisturizes" the skin... every part of the skin (more winks.)  The omega-fatty acids and oils that are good for a total-body complexion are also full of antioxidants which reverse free-radical damage.  Because of all the "total body workouts" going down on V-day, almonds are good to eat after this sensual activity.  Why?  Because over-working your body actually causes it to release a greater amount of these toxic free-radicals.  This doesn't mean to stop "working out," however, eating almonds will help ease the stress on the bod that otherwise would take longer to neutralize and repair on it's own.  And after being soaked, the nutrients in nuts are increased, further stimulating, well,... further stimulating "stimulation."

Now raspberries; just look at a raspberry sometime and tell me it doesn't have a sexy shape.  Besides the lustful plumpness and soft ridges of raspberries, they provide tons of Vitamin C and antioxidants that are sure to get your body lively and ready for action.

Finally, we've got chocolate.  Everybody knows chocolate is the #1 aphrodisiac (Sidenote: A recent poll revealed that most women prefer eating chocolate to having sex.) but in it's rawest form, it is quite dangerous.  Raw Cocao (not cocoa) Powder is the most concentrated source of both fire-igniting passion as well as antioxidants known to mankind.  Today, it is sold for a very high price at health food stores and Wholefoods.  Many people take it as a supplement, not just as a dessert.  But since the Mayans discovered this mystical bean, the harvesting of cocao has been used to enticed and delight people all over the planet.  However, it you don't want to get caught groping a random person and/or animal, you should probably wait to consume it until you're with someone you'd like to get down and dirty with.

Here are recipes for the cakes.  For the Strawberry Cake, I totally made up the recipe based on ingredients I had.  But the raw aphrodisiac tart was found at Rawmazing.com.  Look Below for more info.

 Strawberry Cream Cheeze Cake with Chocolate Ganache

 Materials: Cake pan (preferably heart-shaped)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease pan with vegan margarine or canola oil spray.

 Ingredients for cake:
4 cups flour
2 1/2 cups raw sugar
tablespoon baking powder
teaspoon vanilla extract
shake of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup canola oil
1 overly ripe (brown-spotted) banana, mashed
1/4 cup strawberry preserves (try to get corn or high fructose syrup-free)

Garnishes:
Rawmazing's Raw Chocolate Ganache
thinly sliced strawberries
slivered almonds

Pour half of batter into cake pan.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until fork can be inserted and come out clean. Pop cake out of tin and onto cooling rack after about 15 minutes.  Then pour in rest of batter and repeat.

After half an hour of cooling, cut thin layer off top of cake to make perfectly level.  Spread about 2-3 tablespoons of Tofutti Cream Cheese evenly over layer.  Then top with about 2-3 tablespoons of strawberry preserves.  Layer very thinly sliced strawberries in single-file row over preserve/tofu cream cheese layers.


After second cake pops out, let cool for same amounts of time and slice thin layer off top to make perfectly level.  Coat bottom (uncut) side 2-3 more tablespoons of toffuti and preserves, then gently place on top of strawberry-coated layer, creating a goowgeouus filling.  Then, coat entire top of cake with raw chocolate ganache.


Layer freakishly thin slices of strawberries on top of ganache in any pattern you desire.  It is best to thinly cut the same-sized strawberries and exclusively use the middle 3 layers so that they are all equally-shaped.  Then coat any exposed chocolate ganache with slivered almonds.  Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.  Share with your lady friends!

Now to turn you and your lover into sex Gods/Godesses:

White Chocolate Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart
Recipe can be found at Rawmazing's incredible website, created by Susan Powers, raw foodie and chef.  Millions of surprisingly decadent raw recipes can be found.  Make sure to use her recipe for Raw Chocolate Ganache before going to any other chocolate ganache recipe; it is beyond delish.

More love than usual,
xoxo,
Jane

Fridge Feast: A Faux-Chicken Salad made with Ordinary Ingredients

Yesterday, I came back from a day chock full of classes with a ravenous appetite.  After searching my cabinets inside and out, I realized my blood sugar was so low I needed to pop something in my mouth; immediately.  So without much preparation, I made a simple but satiating and delicious fauxx chicken salad.

Combining the sweet, crunchy element of half a leftover fuji apple, a few spoonfuls of leftover buffalo hummus, a diced slice of half a red onion, a squeeze of lemon, and Gardein's faux breaded chicken strips, I had a bangin' lunch in no time.  There are countless ways of preparing a nice salad, so I'll give you options along with the recipe of ingredients I happened to have in my fridge.  The only solid ingredient you really need is faux chicken strips; Gardein is delicious and won VegNews' Veggie Awards for best product of 2010!  They're also available in most supermarkets; they're not exclusive to health food stores.

I-found-all-this-crap-in-my-fridge faux chikin salad

(Done with what I had to work with at the exact date and time= BUFFALO STYLE )
3-5 strips Gardein Breaded Crispy Tenders (or any other faux chicken, tempeh, or even tofu)
2 tablespoons Bean's Buffalo Hummus (AWESOME stuff, but any hummus will do- experiment with garlic, lemony, or spicy varieties)
2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
Shake or 2 black pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon
half-quarter large fuji apple, sloppily diced

Serve Over:
Bed of mixed greens (which I chose)
Toasted Multi-grain bread

or Serve Between:
A sesame or cinnamon raisin bagel (trust me, sweet and savory works is magical)
two slices of your favorite bread/bun


Defrost chikin strips by setting out or microwaving based on bag's instructions. In a small bowl, douse cooked strips with tabasco sauce,...

 ..smashing it all together with a spoon or fork until it is a consistent "pulled" consistency.  Add hummus, black pepper, then the lemon and mix together.  Then, add apples or anything else such as walnuts, tofu, celery, or raisins (whatever your heart desires.)  Then simply coat a plate with a heaping bed of lettuce, toast, bagel, or pita and scoop salad on top, and enjoy!

Bon appetite, biatches,

Jane

Free People Frees a few Cows

Free People, one of the chicest chain boutiques in the country, is one of my favorite places to find outfit inspiration.  However, I so don't agree with their countless leather products (as well as their steep price tags.)  It seems as though every bracelet, boot, headband, and even shirt has the ability to find a way to sneak leather into the product.
 
But when I typed "vegan" into the searchbar on the website today, up popped a pair of "leather" pants! Wow- a pair of vegan leather pants from free peeps!

So here they are in all their glory-

I'm not one to wear much fauz leather as it is, although I do love my black pleather jacket from Charlotte Rusee. 

There's just something thrilling about wearing a leather-style jacket with tights and re lips; sans Sandy from Greece. 
Turns out, I took these feelings quite literally and decided to dress as her for Halloween last year. (hinthint: second from the left!)








But seriously girls, if you don't wanna look ridiculous in leather pants, it's really not that hard.  I honestly think they look much better with feminine accents.  Like how lena-a from Chicisimo (to the left) wears them; with heels, a flowy, feminine blouse tucked at the waist to preserve a cinched midsection, free-flowing strands, and lots of jewelry.  Minx!

So if you're interested in buying a pair of leather pants to fulfill your Sandy/Moto fantasies, look to Free People's non-scalped-cow pair for a mere 88 pieces of paper. 

Also, be sure to check out the reviews; they seem to be well-received.  And so will your cute lil' butt if you wear these babies.

-Jane

vegan. pizza. VEGAN PIZZA.

Upon hearing about Philly's new Blackbird Pizzeria, I wasn't all too excited.  Memories of the greasy slices and cheese fries I used to get as a pre-vegan youngster aren't all that precious, but the soft sigh of the 6 o'clock news in the background disrupted by arcade game bleeps and an occasional "YO, PEPPERONI!" really just makes me sentimental.  Soo when I discovered Blackbird was an ALL-VEGAN pizzeria......

 I almost cried.

And of course, when I got an opportunity to write my first published food review, my mind immediately gravitated toward Blackbird.  Brand-new and the talk of the city, Blackbird is located on 6th between Lombard and South.  So Temple students on their way to south st. should stop by to grab a slice or a vegan treat (they have the most extensive variety of Vegan Treats I've seen in the city!)

Read my review HERE ;)