
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies (Vegan)
Everyone has their favorite cookies and one of mine is an oatmeal cookie. Years ago, the recipe on the back of the cylinder-type container of Old-Fashioned Quaker Oats was the go-to recipe for oatmeal cookies. Back then, the recipe called for butter, refined sugar, eggs, all-purpose flour, and a scant amount of oats (about a half cup if I remember correctly). Raisins added a chewy sweetness to the cookies which most people either loved or hated (I don’t know too many people on the fence about oatmeal cookies or raisins). Read more

Vegan Dining Options in Asheville, NC (Part 7)
Asheville’s vibrant restaurant scene is often compared to Portland, Oregon’s (often referred to its sister city) but its not because both cities have numerous vegan restaurants. Instead both cities are known for being incredibly tolerant and accommodating to diners preferences. Plant-based options are available at most restaurants even when the menu doesn’t list a vegan option.
There are many fine, casual, southern, Mexican, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Thai, Chinese, and Indian restaurants in Asheville. Here’s just a few that offer some great vegan dining options: Read more

Dr-Cow Raw Chocolate Bricks
One of the great benefits of following a plant-based diet is enjoying dark chocolate whose subtle differences in taste, texture, and aroma become more pronounced over time. Acquiring a taste for dark chocolate evolves but once you’ve come to appreciate the purity and intensity of dark chocolate, you’ll never want to eat milk chocolate ever again. The difference is really that striking.
Dr-Cow, a small storefront in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn is known for making organic, raw, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, and soy-free food products, especially tree nut cheese, granola, biscotti, crackers, desserts, and chocolates. Read more

Lagusta’s Luscious Heathen Toffee
People who follow a plant-based diet may be considered heathens – people who do not follow or belong to a widely held belief or faith – of a different sort because they don’t subscribe to the standard American diet (SAD) – a diet with a heavy emphasis on animal products and highly processed foods.
But being plant-based doesn’t mean you have to give up favorite treats because there are some incredible alternatives out there. Take toffee – a crunchy, rich candy typically made with butter, sugar, almonds, chocolate, and salt – a holiday favorite (although I used to eat toffee all year long). Without butter, how could toffee possibly be toffee? Read more

The 8 Best Vegan Websites and Cookbooks
Whether you’re new to or know your way around vegan cooking and baking, there are several websites and cookbooks that offer all sorts of alternatives to the traditional American diet. Ingredients, time, complexity, taste, and appearance are the five aspects by which I judge a cookbook or website and these eight are simply the best.
When I first started making vegan dishes, I often consulted three sites and their corresponding cookbooks, all of which are excellent for the novice vegan baker/cook: Read more

“Vegan Chocolate”
If someone told you a chocolate dessert could be unapologetically luscious, decadent and dairy-free, would you believe her? Fran Costigan, author, baking instructor, and vegan chocolate extraordinaire said just that and I really wanted to believe her but I had my doubts because most vegan chocolate desserts don’t taste as rich and scrumptious as those made with butter, cream, and eggs. How could they? Butter, like chocolate makes nearly everything taste better. But they can, and they do in a new cookbook called Vegan Chocolate. Read more