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February 2005—Issue #16
Vegetarian News, Food & More!
Brought to you by VegNews Magazine
In this issue:
**Weekly Vegan Cookie Basket Giveaway
**Veggie Awards Bash a HUGE Success
**Scrumptious Breakfast Ideas from the VegNews Staff
**Hot Product Review: Vegan Baking Mixes
**Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache Cake
**Sensational New Cooking DVD
**Coming Up in the March VegNewsletter
Thanks so much for your interest in VegNews, America's premier vegetarian lifestyle magazine. The popular "VegNewsletter" arrives in your e-mailbox just once a month and is filled with vegetarian news, tidbits, recipes, products, reviews, and more. It's the perfect accompaniment to a VegNews subscription.
On behalf of the VegNews Magazine team, we want to serve you, and to do that, we need to know what you're thinking. And we'll give you more than just a penny for your thoughts... one Sun Flour Baking Company Vegan Cookie Basket a week will be given away to VegNews Survey respondents during the months of February and March. It takes only a few moments of your time, and the rewards are deliciously satisfying. Good luck!
Click here to take the VegNews Survey right now
It was an evening to remember for over 200 VegNews readers, Veggie Award winners, and press at the 1st Annual Veggie Award Bash at San Francisco's Millennium Restaurant. Some even called it the "veg event of the year," and with good reason. The wine was pouring, organic hors d'oeuvres abundant, soy lattes brewing, and the excitement astonishing as the best of the best in the vegetarian industry were honored.
Hosted by activist Julia Butterfly Hill and VegNews' publisher Joseph Connelly, Mayor Gavin Newsom accepted the #1 Veg-Friendly City Award on behalf of San Francisco. Other winners recognized were Millennium (Best Vegetarian Restaurant), Eric Tucker (Best Vegetarian Chef), Ferry Plaza Market (Best Farmer's Market), Whole Soy Yogurt (Best Dairy-Free Yogurt), Herbivore Restaurant (Best Vegan Brunch), and Rainbow Natural Foods (Best Health Food Store). There was also wine tasting by Frey Vineyards, herbal coffees by Teeccino, and vegan chocolate samples by Tropical Source. All guests received a jumbo Alternative Baking Company cookie as a party favor.
Read glowing press coverage in The San Francisco Examiner and on SFGate.com
Click here to peruse the photos from the VegNews Veggie Award Bash
Do you ever wonder what other vegetarians eat for breakfast? Even if the thought never crossed your mind (after all, being veg is easier than ever), get inspired by the following ideas. We asked a handful of our writers and columnists what THEY ate for breakfast, and here's what we discovered...
Rose Aguilar (News Beet)
Tofu scramble with red peppers and artichoke hearts; hashbrowns; protein fruit smoothie
Beverly Lynn Bennett (Dairy-Free Baking)
Smoothie made with banana, mango, frozen berries, & orange juice; bowl of hempseed granola with soymilk
Patti Breitman (Quick & Easy Vegan Cooking)
 Bowl of organic blueberries and chopped pears sprinkled with a tablespoon of ground flax seeds; glass of calcium fortified orange juice (with pulp); one banana
Joseph Connelly (Editor-In-Chief)
Bowl of hot cereal (rye and spelt) cooked in homemade unsweetened organic almond milk with maple syrup, raisins, and cinnamon; glass of fresh-pressed organic carrot juice. He would have preferred a Vegan chocolate donut!
Colleen Holland (Food Editor)
Organic raspberry mango smoothie
Jack Norris (Nutritionally Speaking)
Fruit smoothie made with juice and almond milk
Robin Robertson (Global Vegan)
Toasted cinnamon-raisin Ezekiel bread with almond butter; cup of organic white tea
Mickey Z. (Meat the Press)
Vegan Canadian “Bacon” on a whole wheat roll with soy butter; organic decaf with Silk creamer
We have sampled many vegan baking mixes in search of standouts suitable for VegNews Picks. Few have prevailed. With the release of the Goodbaker line, a new standard has been set: these mixes are fantastic. Seriously. These may be the best dairy-free baking mixes on the market, and we bet you won’t believe they came out of a bag. With varieties such as Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie, Double-Chocolate Chip Cookie, Fudge Brownie, Oatmeal Spice Cookie, Chocolate Cake & Ganache, Magic Muffin, Scrumptious Scone, and Buckwheat Pancake and Waffle, superb vegan and organic baked goods can be whipped up in just minutes.
Click here to peruse the delicious line of Goodbaker Vegan Mixes
By VegNews Food Columnist Beverly Lynn Bennett
This luscious ganache-covered chocolate cake topped with vegan hazelnut truffles is perfect for any time of the year but is particularly nice around Valentine's Day. Okay, so even though the romance holiday has passed, there's always time for chocolate. It's a double dose of sweets to show the sweetie in your life just how much you care, all in one delicious vegan dessert. Enjoy!
Cake:
3/4 cup soy or rice milk
1/4 cup silken style tofu, extra firm
3/4 cups unbleached cane sugar
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon hazelnut or almond extract
Chocolate Ganache and Truffles:
12 ounces dairy-free chocolate chips
2/3 cup soy or rice milk
3 tablespoons vegan margarine
1 cup hazelnuts
2-3 teaspoons safflower oil, as needed
1-2 tablespoons cocoa powder
For the cake: Lightly oil an 8-inch round cake pan and set aside. In a food processor, place the soy milk and tofu, and blend for one minute. Add the dry ingredients and pulse a few times to combine. Add the remaining cake ingredients, and blend an additional 1 minute to thoroughly combine. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Place the cake onto a rack to cool for 5 minutes, then invert the cake, remove pan, and allow it to cool completely.
For the ganache: In the top of a double boiler, place the chocolate chips, soy milk, and margarine, and heat together until the chips begin to melt. Whisk the mixture until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat, transfer 1 cup of the ganache to a bowl, and set aside. Leaving the cake on the rack, slowly pour half of the remaining ganache over the cake to thoroughly cover the top and sides. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes, then pour the remaining half of the ganache over the cake, and chill.
For the truffle mixture: Place the hazelnuts in a pie pan and toast them at 350º for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant. Place warm hazelnuts in a towel and rub to remove skins. Transfer hazelnuts to a food processor and process to finely chop. Remove 1/3 cup of the chopped nuts, place in a bowl, and set aside. Continue processing hazelnuts an additional 2-3 minutes, adding some safflower oil, as needed, to form a smooth and creamy paste. Add the hazelnut butter to the reserved ganache and whisk until smooth. Cover and chill until firm.
When the mixture is firm, use a small scoop or your hands to form it into 1-inch balls, place them on a plate, and chill for 1 hour. Roll half of the chilled truffles in the reserved hazelnuts and the other half in cocoa powder, then re-chill them until firm. To finish decorating the cake, score the top into 8 pieces, and place a truffle one inch from the edge in the center of each slice, alternating varieties. Sprinkle the center of the cake with any remaining chopped hazelnuts, and serve the remaining truffles on the side.
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