Spring Roll Redux

I wasn't happy with the look of my last spring roll post, so when I made them again yesterday I took better pictures.

First, I soaked the rice noodles for 20 minutes in cold water to "cook" them.


I then shredded carrots, cucumber, and jicama. The black tool is a julienne peeler from Pampered Chef.


Step One:


Step Two:


Step Three:


I was inspired by someone else's post using peanut sauce with their spring rolls (I'm so sorry I can't remember who it was - I looked through blogs trying to find it but it was a while ago) so I used my fancy-schmancy dipping bowls:


And this Tai Peanut Sauce:


To dip:


Finished rolls:

Google This.

Lindyloo from Yeah, that Vegan Shit will sometimes post the Google searches that have taken people to her blog. Her's are a bit more bizarre, but I thought mine were interesting nonetheless:

vegan cereal wild oats
videoclip with swarm of butterflies
vegan rella
"fifth-level vegan"
subway veggie patty ingredients
boba tea in park slope
recipe for crispini
gobo vegan waverly
grapeseed mayo
vidalia chop wizard bad reviews
longo's pizza crust wegmans
knorr sun dried
total vegan living

You can get site info from Site Meter. It's a free website tracking service.

Wow!

Juice maker ends animal testing
From Reuters
January 18, 2007

Pomegranate juice maker Pom Wonderful, which became a target of animal rights activists because of research the company did into its juice's medical benefits, said Wednesday that it had stopped testing on animals.

"Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice has ceased all animal testing, and we have no plans to do so in the future," Lynda and Stewart Resnick wrote to all Pom retailers by e-mail or post Wednesday.

The Resnicks own Los Angeles-based Roll International Corp., a holding company that operates Pom and other businesses. A copy of their letter was obtained by Reuters.

Last month, an animal rights group claimed that it had tampered with 487 bottles of Pom juice, prompting Wild Oats Markets Inc., the No. 2 U.S. natural and organic grocer, to pull the product from shelves in some of its East Coast stores.

Pom called the tampering claim "a cruel hoax" Wednesday, and a Wild Oats spokeswoman said the grocery chain had returned Pom drinks to the shelves after testing showed that the products had not been tampered with.

"In our quest to discover how pomegranate juice can help treat human diseases and conditions such as arteriolosclerosis, prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction and birth defects, it was sometimes necessary to fund animal testing," Pom said in the letter.

Pom's decision came as Whole Foods Market Inc. told Reuters that it had decided to stop selling the company's juice and associated tea blends by April 1 if Pom continued to fund studies that might include animal testing.

Total..ly Not Vegan

I have eaten Total cereal for years. It was great because it had so many vitamins and minerals - I always felt like I was getting something out of my breakfast.

Needless to say, I was shocked to find that they have added "lactose" to their ingredient list. I have no idea how long ago this happened, I'd like to think I only ate a few bowls of "contaminated" cereal!

So yeah, Total is Totally Not Vegan.

Follow Your Heart (Grilled Cheese)

Wegman's began carrying Follow Your Heart instead of Vegan Rella Mozarella cheese. I'm very disappointed, as I prefer Rella.



Here's the sandwich:


The cheese is just gummy, not "cheesy" It kind of reminds me of soft tofu.


Also, I think the taste is more bland than Rella.

Final straw: Follow Your Heart is not very stable, it goes bad VERY quickly, you have to use it within a few days of opening it.

Vegan Rella, I miss you!

Shopping Trip 1/9/07

This trip garnered Chips, Paper Towels, Tai Peanut Sauce, Silk, French Vanilla Tea, Tofurky Slices, Ener-G Egg Replacer, OJ, Rice Noodles, Coffee Silk, Carrots, Salsa, Frizzante (flavored sparkling water), and Virgils Cream Soda and Black Cherry Cream Soda.

Dogs on a Couch

George and Good Girl have the life.

SoGo

We went to a stylin' new joint near our house this weekend, SoGo Fusion. It's definitely high-end for the area, but when they brought out San Pellegrino in a small plastic bottle, I joked that that was how you could tell we were still in our small home town and not in NYC. Regardless, it's very good and very vegan friendly.

The decor is very metropolitan:


I asked for the Mango Chicken with Tofu instead of Chicken:
It was delish! Though the tofu and mango were so finely sliced, I looked like a newb trying to pick it up with my chopsticks!

Gian had All-Vegetable Skewers which is vegetable and fried tofu kabobs with brown sauce:


We also had Sweet Crispy Tofu Rolls:

Nojito!

Since it's the middle of January and 70 degrees in the Northeast, Pier and I enjoyed some refreshing Nojitos.

This is my recipe for a delicious Nojito (non-alcohilic Mojito)!

Start by slicing half a lime into wedges:


Place the limes in a tall glass:


Grab a bunch of mint:


Add 12 mint leaves:


Use either a muddler or a mini tart shaper to mash the limes and mint:


Top off with simple syrup* (to taste) and sparkling water (I used San Pelligrino):


Top with a straw and enjoy!!

Mojitos appear to have been invented by Sir Francis Drake and were originally called "Draques" after him. They were largely enjoyed in Cuba but became popular in Southern Florida in the early 1900s. Rumor has it Ernest Hemmingway enjoyed them at his home in Key West.

*Simple Syrup
2 parts sugar
3 parts hot water

Stir sugar into water until dissolved, chill, covered until use.

Online Nutrition Database

Ever wonder how much Iron, Calcium, B-12, or protein is in your waffle, veggie burger, or broccoli casserole? Nutrition Data's website has all the information you are looking for!

Enter in the food you are curious about and Nutrition Data will give you the Nutritional Information, moisture count, caloric ratio, completeness score, fullness ratio, and nutritional breakdown including a short summary:

Here's the exerpt from Nori-Nu Silken Firm Tofu:

The Good
This food is very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Thiamin, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Protein.

Vegan Treats!

My love affair with Vegan Treats is no secret.

Here are some photos of my most recent trip to their bakery (1444 Linden Street, Bethlehem, PA 610.861.7660):

The display case:

A new item - Caramel Chocolate Cake:

Chocolate-Strawberry Cream Cake (actually, I forget what this is called):

Vegan Treats Bakery stocks fresh donoughts, their newest flavor is raspberry-filled:

As you can see, I couldn't wait to eat them!

Anyone interested??

I stopped by to pick up a Chocolate-Encased Strawberry Shortcake, here it is in progress:

The bakery was decorated for the holidays, all in pink, of course!

Who knew?

I watched Legally Blonde 2 today - and was shocked that the entire premise of the movie is animal rights. Elle, Reese Witherspoon, goes to Washington to pass a bill banning animal testing. She succeeds in the movie, but unfortunately no such ban actually exists in the US.

Regardless, it was an entertaining movie with a suprising message!