Vegan Candy Shop in Lyndhurst - No Whey! Vegan Chocolate Candies

I live in Lyndhurst. And I love my hood. I'm close to work. Close to my running group. Close to freeways. My city is very walkable/runnable/bikeable. I could go on and on and on about why my little suburb is my owner personal slice of heaven, but I won't.

I was excited to notice a new shop in my hood the other day while out for a run - No Whey! Vegan Chocolate Candies, a vegan candy store. It's less than a mile from my house, and, ironically, across the street from a huge non-vegan candy store. (and in the same crazy little strip plaza as my favorite Thai restaurant - Bangkok Thai)

No Whey! Storefront

They just opened and have some crazy hours - 4:00-9:00 pm Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. (and it still looks a little like the Chinese restaurant that was in the same spot for years and years and years) My boyfriend and I dropped in on a rainy Tuesday night and we were the only customers for quite awhile. There was a huge tray of samples (hello, dark chocolate and cranberry bark!) and a small selection of candies and vegan goods on the sales floor. They feature a lot of products from Plant Kingdom, a local-ish energy bar/hemp bar creator.

Our stash of vegan deliciousness

We chatted it up with one of the owners for awhile and you can tell they're really just starting to get the swing of things with their business. (but at least they take credit cards! yay, Square!) They hope to expand their product line and carry other vegan products as time passes/revenue increases. As of right now you can buy some Leahey products (as seen in my photo above), vegan marshmallows, Daiya cheese, and a few other vegan goods. It's a great start, honestly. I really think the sky's the limit for a vegan business in Cleveland...now if only I could get the capital to start my own vegan cafe/juice bar...

Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Pudding Pie

I'm not a vegan, but I do happen to eat a lot of vegan food.  Whether it's by chance or choice, I think I've gotten fairly good at creating all kinds of vegan dishes.  I'm especially fond of vegan baked goods, so I'm always up for trying out a new recipe.

Vegan Chocolate Pudding Pie

But maybe trying out a new recipe for Thanksgiving was a bad idea.

My original plan for Thanksgiving was to make a vegan pumpkin pie.  But my boyfriend's mother informed me that she'd be bringing a pumpkin roll to dinner, and we just couldn't have two pumpkin desserts.  So then I decided to make a vegan sour cream coffee cake that I've made multiple times and everyone loves and an experimental vegan pudding pie. 

But I forgot the vegan sour cream at the store and decided to just go with the recipe I'd found at The Post Punk Kitchen for Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding Pie.  (I love you Isa!)  In my delusional mind I thought pudding pie = easy.  And in some cases it does.  But normally when you aren't making your pudding from scratch. 

Have you ever made pudding from scratch?  It's really, really hard to do.  It took me two attempts to make the pudding for this pie.  I burned the first batch (and nearly burned down my kitchen!  looks like I'll be needing a new saucepan from Santa, too)  and used a cooking technique that my boyfriend's home ec teaching mother would definitely frown upon.  I needed to whisk my pudding mixture, and since my hand whisking didn't work the first time, I used my mixer in the pan on the stove.  Dangerous, I know.  But it seemed to work.

My second batch of filling didn't burn and seemed like it would set up ok, so I poured it into my store bought graham cracker crust, sprinkled some vegan chocolate chips on the crust, and hoped for the best.  I had some extra pudding left over so I put it in a ramekin to eat later.  The leftover pudding ended up tasting vegan, so I was pretty worried about how my pie would do the next day.

And what happened you ask?  The pie ended up being pretty tasty.  The filling didn't firm up the way I wanted it to, but that was probably because I put a lid on it too soon after the pudding came off of the stove, and I didn't give it enough time to just set up on my counter top.  But it definitely had a rich, chocolately flavor, even if it was a little tough to eat.  (the crust also got a little soggy, but it wasn't anything that eating it with a spoon couldn't fix)

This recipe is one of many delicious sounding recipes from the new cookbook Vegan Pie in the Sky by my favorite vegan cookbook authors - Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. I hope to try out a couple more recipes over the holidays.  But I'll probably try them out at least once before I serve them up to a crowd.

Cleveland's Newest Food Truck - Traveling Treats

When I was a kid, I lived in a city that outlawed ice cream trucks, so I missed out on childhood exuberance caused by hearing the clanging of an ice cream truck's bell or its olde time music. ("do your ears hang low" is my personal favorite)

But I think I've found the adult equivalent of an ice cream truck - the Cakes Plus Traveling Treat van!

As an east sider - I'd never heard of Cakes Plus, but Diana Dumitru has been making her tasty treats since 1999.  (if not longer, since she had a shop in the old arcade before that)  You might also know her from Ultimate Brownies fame. (Yes, those Ultimate Brownies.  The ones that are to die for!)

Let's get down to the nitty gritty, though.  How does this traveling treats concept work?  Similar to Dim and Den Sum - Cleveland's only other food truck - Cakes Plus has a facebook page that shows upcoming stops, so you can figure out where to go to get some of Cakes Plus' delicious goodies.

Yesterday I located the Traveling Treats-mobile in Mayfield Village.  I literally felt like a kid in a candy store.  There were SO many amazing sounding desserts on the menu - everything from Ultimate Brownies - including vegan Ultimate Brownies - to cupcakes (yes, there were vegan cupcakes, too!) to cheesecake.  I could have ordered one of everything on the menu, but I stuck to a vegan brownie and a carrot cake cupcake.  A lunch of champions, right?

  

So how were my goodies?  Let me just say, the next time the Traveling Treats van comes to my neighborhood, I'm going to need a shopping bag when I make my purchases.  The vegan brownie was one of THE best brownies I've ever eaten - hands down.  And that's counting all the non-vegan brownies I've had in my lifetime. And the carrot cake cupcake...amazingly moist and delicious.  The frosting wasn't too sugary or crunchy or any of the other things I tend to not like about cupcakes.  I could have eaten a dozen.

Clevelanders - I encourage you to check out Cakes Plus' facebook page to find out when this treat-mobile is coming to a neighborhood near you. (or if you're so inclined, you can order some Ultimate Brownies and have them shipped to you! or you can even contact Diana to have a cake or other baked good made for a special occasion)  It's ok to indulge in some gluttony if you're supporting a local business, right?

Recipe: Vegan Apple Crisp

If you read my blog regularly, you know that my knowledge of kitchen utensils is sub par, and up until I made this recipe, I had no idea that there's a difference between an apple brown betty (contains breadcrumbs) and an apple crisp (uses oats and/or flour).  (I do like the term "betty" better than crisp, though, because it reminds me of Ram Jam's "Black Betty.")

I made a vegan apple crisp recipe I found on The Post Punk Kitchen's site (new and improved!  check it out!).  I don't like raisins all that much and was fresh out of arrowroot powder so I used cornstarch, but otherwise, I followed the instructions and ingredients to the letter. 

And it looked a little something like this: 

 

Admittedly, I'm my own worst critic, so I thought this recipe was just ok.  Growing up, my mom never ever EVER used sugar in recipes.  She used honey instead, and I think I'm more accustomed to what apples taste like when they're mixed with honey - not gobs of white sugar.  BUT...I made this for some dinner guests and they gobbled it up, so I have to believe that if you're a fan of cooking apples with sugar, you'd like this recipe.  I think I'd make this vegan apple crisp again, but maybe I'd try to use agave instead.

Recipe: Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pie

Editor's Note: December 2013 - I originally wrote this post in my early days of food blogging, long before I even considered becoming a vegan. My vegan baking skills (and blogging skills) have improved since then, so I've updated this recipe a smidge to make it even better than it was before. Enjoy!

If there's one thing in life that I think a person should not have to do without it's dessert.   A little chocolate, or ice cream, or pie every once in awhile - or in my case daily - really can't hurt you as long as you enjoy your decadence in moderation.  (although I'm no expert on moderation...I think I could easily eat an entire tray of brownies...but I'll talk about that some other time)

One of my favorite cooking/baking games is "feed your friends and family vegan food without telling them."  Admittedly, I'm not a vegan, and I'd be a hypocrite to say that I'm even close to being completely vegan (darn you, dairy ice cream!), but I understand the benefits of limiting daily dairy intake, from a calorie perspective as well as from a "holy cow, what kind of awful stuff is put into dairy these days" perspective.

But I digress.

For a recent holiday, I was given the task of creating a dessert to share with my completely non-vegan extended family.  My vegetarian mother has been secretly feeding them vegetarian food for years, but vegan food is a whole 'nother ballgame.

I decided to try my hand at making a vegan peanut butter chocolate pie.  I mean, who doesn't like peanut butter and/or chocolate?  And the recipe went something like this:

Ingredients:

• 1 container extra firm tofu (not the "lite" kind - very important - it will taste like tofu if you use the wrong kind)
• At least 1 1/4 cups of melted vegan chocolate chips
• 1/2 to 2/3 cups peanut butter
• Soy/almond/etc. milk to desired texture - at least 1/2 cup
• Vegan pie crust (something like a graham cracker crust works nicely) 

Method:

Get your blender ready!  The key to creating a delicious, non-tofu-y pie is blending.  

1. Combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and soy milk and heat until all ingredients are melted/more malleable. 
2. Put the tofu and melted chocolate mixture in the blender.  
3. Blend until smooth - note that you might need to add extra non-dairy milk to make the pie filling easier to work with. Use your best judgement.

And now you're done!  Not really, but sort of.  At this point, you'll need to taste the pie and see what needs to be added.  Perhaps more chocolate?  Or more milk, if the texture is too thick...or more peanut butter, if you feel like you're tasting chocolate and tofu and not chocolate peanut butter goodness.  Once you think you have the flavors "right," put the filling in the pie crust and set in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.  If you're like me and hate plain looking dessert, feel free to use a little more melted chocolate to decorate the top of the pie before chilling.

The finished product:

(Might I mention that this recipe is lifted from the kind folks at VegWeb.  For the original recipe and some helpful user commentary, click here.)

And the result?  A delicious, non-vegan tasting pie that my family gobbled up.  Or at least enjoyed.  My dessert was in direct competition with an ice cream cake, but if I do say so myself, my dessert was much better!

It's the weekend. Now what? Maybe some raw food

What a week!  I'm surprised to find that it's Friday.  I'd say "Friday already" but this week has felt like at least 3 years to me.  Possibly more.  I feel like I've aged at least 15 years since Sunday, and I've most certainly only gotten around 12 hours of sleep.  But enough about the chaos in my world!  It's the weekend!  If you're like me and work for one of the largest employers in NE Ohio, it's also bonus time.  I'll be hoarding my money like a squirrel, but if you have some extra time and some cash, you may want to check out the west side edition of Bazaar Bizarre. I had the opportunity to check out the east side version and saw sooo many things that I liked.  You've got to hand it to Cleveland's craftspeople. (Like these fine folks showing their wars at the bazaar.) There are hoards of them selling their wares on Etsy, the best non-commercial crafty gifts site ever.  I had planned on buying local and/or homemade presents for this holiday season, but suddenly I no longer have anyone to shop for.  But maybe you do?

And while you're on the west side, check out Good 'N Raw inside the Optimal Wellness Center, which offers holistic care, yoga, and more.  But I can't comment on any of those things, because I was only there for the food.  Good 'N Raw is an all raw foods cafe/shop with a great selection of raw food takeout itmes.  If you're not familiar with raw food, it's pretty much what you think it would be - foods that are completely raw or are cooked at low temperatures (around 100 degrees, I believe) in order to preserve the nutrients, flavor, etc. within foods.  Who knew there was even such a thing in Cleveland?  I sure didn't.

Good 'N Raw features a selection of prepackaged "takeout" items like brownies, chips, granola and other random raw foods items.  They offer a full menu of items that can be made in minutes, including smoothies, juices, and a couple sandwiches.  (Literally two)  

As soon as I walked in, I was greeted with samples of avocado mousse and ridiculously good kale chips.  After two little bites, I knew I needed to try a full meal.  So I ordered the Rawsome Burger, made out of mushrooms, walnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, celery, red onion, and a whole hodge podge of other things.  I also got some kale and sweet potato chips and a macadamia nut brownie.  (I'd just run in a race...I was hungry.)

 

This was my first raw burger and I can honestly say it's the best veggie burger I've ever eaten.  (And I've been a vegetarian for my whole life, so I've eaten plenty of them.)  Since it was raw/fresh it was extremely flavorful.  It was also very filling.  The kale and sweet potato chips were also excellent.  They're like a cross between flavored chips and dehydrated vegetables.  It's hard to explain.  And the brownie...wow!  Definitely different than your standard mix brownie, but definitely rich and delicious.

If you have any interest in vegan or raw foods or just want to try something different, you owe it to yourself to check this place out.  Maybe I'll treat myself again this weekend...

What exactly does a marshmallow taste like anyway?

'Tis the season for Rice Krispie treats, hot cocoa with marshmallows, and sweet potatoes with a gooey, marshmallow-y topping.  But sadly for me, I've never gotten to enjoy any of those things because of the ingredients in marshmallows.  Namely, gelatin.  I think very few people realize that gelatin lurks in strange places or even know what gelatin is.  I remember getting into an argument with my middle school assistant principal over whether or not marshmallows were made out of "animals."  (Mr. Haluko, I'm still right.) Too bad those were the pre-internet days, because a quick Google search would have proved that I wasn't crazy.  At least not for that reason.

My recent vegan shopping excursions have allowed me to discover a plethora of vegan "fakes" meant to fool even the most discriminating meat eater, and Sweet & Sara's vegan marshmallows are no exception.

 

So, yeah.  I ordered more marshmallows that a person should ever probably eat from Sweet & Sara's. But can you blame me?  28+ years on this planet without getting to taste marshmallow-y goodness?  I ordered your standard vanilla marshmallow squares, marshmallow ghosts, and s'mores.  (What spurred this order was a failed attempt to buy vegan marshmallows at Whole Foods.  Surprisingly, they didn't have any!)

I honestly didn't know what to expect as I bit into a vanilla marshmallow.  I've smelled them for years and years and years, and they smell pretty good, but I didn't know what the taste would be like. 

My initial thoughts?   They taste squishy.  I didn't know it was possible for a food to taste squishy, but I honestly think I heard the marshmallow squeak on my teeth.  And that weirded me out a little bit.  The flavor was good and sugary, but not nearly as good as the non-marshmallow desserts I've been enjoying recently.  Even the s'more didn't live up to my expectations.  I generally like anything made with chocolate, but I just couldn't get past the weird texture of the marshmallow center.  

I had my meat-a-tarian boyfriend try my assorted goodies to get his thoughts.  He loves "real" marshmallows, so I wanted him to let me know if these fake could pass the test.  He affirmed that the vegan versions taste just like the real thing, so he loved them.  He even shared his s'more with his co-workers to let them see how a fake marshmallow could mimic a real one.  

 

Don't let my marshmallow apathy keep you from ordering Sweet & Sara's marshmallows.  If you're a vegetarian or vegan and like (or liked) marshmallows, you should give these vegan marshmallows a try.  Sweet & Sara just introduced a mini marshmallow line - just in time for the holidays and hot cocoa season!

Recipe: Magical Coconut Bars

In preparation for the upcoming holiday, I've been cooking and baking up a storm.  I like to do "trial runs" ahead of time, especially when I'm using new recipes.  Like I am this year.  I think I'm only using one tried and true recipe - for smashed potatoes.  And if I were able to find a way to mess up smashed potatoes, I should be banished from the kitchen.

Since I love the combination of coconut and chocolate, I decided to make Magical Coconut Bars from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Jar.  (Follow the link to see the recipe.  I don't want to publish a recipe from this awesome book without permission.)

My results:

 

Not the most exciting photo, I know.  But I can tell you that people I work with raved about these bars.  As with all of the other vegan recipes I've been making lately, no one could tell they weren't "normal."  

I thought they were just ok.  I used light coconut milk in an attempt to make them less gluttonous, and I feel like it game them an odd flavor.  I also under-baked them accidentally because my oven hates me.  (Time to invest in an oven thermometer!) But...if you're looking for a dessert to make for an upcoming holiday, this is a great recipe.  It makes a heck of a lot of bars (24) and could feed a small army. 

I have a few more trials runs to complete this weekend...stuffing...vegan pumpkin pie cheesecake.  Good thing I'm running in the Pigskin Classic 5K tomorrow morning to at least burn off a few of the calories I'm going to pack on. 

Recipe: Easy as pie vegan pumpkin pie recipe

Now, when it comes to desserts, I'm still a little skeptical of some vegan variations.  I've had some awful vegan desserts in my day (just not recently, thank you very much), so when I found a recipe for tofu pumpkin pie over at vegweb.com, I was intrigued.  Pumpkin pie is my most favorite dessert of all time, and I was a little worried about how the recipe might turn out.  But since I've had some vegan baking "wins" lately, I thought I owed it to myself to give this recipe a try.  I mean, I am hosting Thanksgiving this year, and as easy as it would be to buy a pie from Whole Foods, it's a bigger accomplishment to make one from scratch.  Well, sort of from scratch.  I bought the crust at Whole Foods - it's surprisingly difficult to find a vegetarian let alone vegan pie crust.  Who knew that lard is still used in a lot of pie crusts.  If you don't live near a Whole Foods and need a meat-free pie crust, check out PETA's Accidentally Vegan list for vegan alternatives of all sorts of products sold in a grocery store near you.

Here we go!

Ingredients:

1 can (15-16 ounces) pureed pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar or sucanat (or 1/2 cup maple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2-3 tablespoons cornstarch to firm up the pie filling
1 package (10-12 ounces) silken/firm tofu
1 9-in unbaked vegan pie shell

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.  

2. Using a blender or large food processor, blend the pumpkin and sugar.

3. Add salt, spices, cornstarch and tofu, mix thoroughly - in the blender/food processor.  

4. Pour mixture into pie shell and bake for 15 minutes. 

5. Lower heat to 350 F and bake for another 60 minutes.  (or if you have a crazy oven like mine, closer to 90 minutes)

6. Chill and serve.  

Important notes:

- Use a blender or other high-powered device (like a food processor) to make the filling - I made two pies this weekend (good thing frozen pie shells come in two packs!) - For pie #1, I used my mixer (and the optional spices the original recipe calls for) and the pie was a lumpy, tofu-y mess.  I ate one bite and threw it away it was that bad.  The second was smooth and there wasn't a trace of tofu.

- Don't use the low fat tofu, then the pie tastes like it was made with tofu. (I used low fat tofu for pie #1 - epic FAIL here folks)

- Cracking is normal.  Don't panic if the surface has some cracks - it will still taste great!

The finished product:

The result?  A pretty tasty pie!  My guinea pig is always my meat-a-tarian boyfriend.  He really liked the pie and unless he reads this post, I don't think he could ever tell that I made it with tofu.  I liked it so much that I plan on serving it next week!

If you plan on making this pie, I HIGHLY recommend reading the comments posted with the original recipe.  After I baked my first version of this pie and it was a disaster, I got the idea to use a blender and less spices from the folks who'd already made this pie.  

Now if only I could figure out what else to serve next week.  Any suggestions?

Vegan Dessert Options in Cleveland

Another weekend went whooshing by.  Unlike most weekends where I barely have a chance to breathe let alone do anything fun, I got to do quite a few neat things over this past weekend. (I'm a day late, I know...yesterday was busy!)

On Friday, I went with some friends to the Tremont Art Walk.  I'm sure the artwork that was on display was lovely, but we spent the majority of our time eating pizza and free popcorn or petting the cat in Edison's Pub, trying to not go deaf from the loud oldies being played at the Flying Monkey, and then finally, not trying to not fall asleep at the Treehouse because we're not used to staying out that late.  It was great.  I always forget how much I like hanging out in Tremont until I go back.  Living in a land-locked part of the east side sometimes deters me from going there, but I need to make it a point to hang out there more often.

I had so much fun in Tremont on Friday that I decided to go back on Saturday.  Well, that's not exactly true.  Tremont Scoops had a vegan dessert tasting.  Or as I'd like to call it, a formerly fat girl's dream.  The owner had prepared samples of the vegan "ice cream" and baked goods that she's added to her plethora of tasty treats.  I got to sample carrot cake, chocolate cheesecake, a mini ice cream sandwich (made with Tofutti - my favorite non-dairy ice cream), a chocolate brownie, apple crumb...and probably some other things.  (Mini-sizes - I didn't ingest 10,000 calories for lunch)  Everything was so good, I sort of lost track.  All of these tasty vegan items - and more - are available for special order from Tremont Scoops' all vegan dessert menu. (just in time for the holidays!)  Surprise the vegan or lactose intolerant person in your life with some delicious dessert this holiday season...or at least stop in to Tremont Scoops to show your support for this new menu.  The owner really put some time and effort into developing her line-up of vegan items.  Like the slice of pumpkin chiffon pie I purchased before I left the store.  (I felt guilty for having so many free samples - I wanted to at least buy something!)

    

It's exciting to have one place to order vegan desserts from...but can you believe there are even more vegan bakers around town?  If you're looking for holiday vegan cookie trays, Lea over at Terra Bakery is  now taking orders.  She's posted pictures of some of her most recent creations and they look fantastic.  She takes special requests, too, so if you're looking for something in particular, she'll be able to whip up something to meet your sweet-tooth needs.   

And if you'll excuse me, I need to go run off all the calories I took in this weekend. :)