My favorite brand of vegan chocolate is Endangered Species chocolate. It comes in a variety of vegan flavors. My favorites are dark chocolate with espresso, dark chocolate with raspberries, and dark chocolate with deep forest mint. This chocolate is perfect for muffins, cookies or blondies. I used the dark chocolate with espresso in the blondies I made yesterday. I chopped up two bars into small pieces using a serrated knife.
You can find Endangered Species chocolate at Earthfare. I can’t remember if Kroger carries it but I’ll let you know the next time I’m there!
Tonight was super fun. I didn’t have to work today so I invited some friends over for a grill-fest.
I grilled portabella mushrooms marinated in balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and my holiday herb mix in addition to asparagus, zucchini, and onions. Here’s the veggie platter before it hits the grill:
I also served a simple salad with carrot ginger dressing. I used a recipe from Epicurious.com. The dressing tasted just like the ginger dressing from Japanese restaurants. Yum!
Here’s the recipe:
1/2 pound carrots
1/4 cup chopped ginger
1/4 cup shallots
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. sesame oil
1/8 t. salt
1/2 cup veggie oil
1/4 cup water
I blended everything besides the oil in my VitaMix blender. Once it was fairly uniform, I turned the blender on medium and slowly drizzled in the veggie oil.
I also grilled a carrot parsnip cake (not vegan. I think it has a bit of eggs) from Earthfare and ate it as a sandwich with sourdough bread. A coworker at Ike and Jane recommended I try true sourdough bread if I’m sensitive to gluten. She says she learned true sourdough bread (made with a starter: basically a fermenting bacteria and yeast colony plus flour and water) has lower gluten levels because the starter ‘kills’ the gluten during the baking process. I need to research it more but I’ve been able to eat a few slices per day without any problems. I’m only going to eat the sourdough from Earthfare for now because I know it’s a true sourdough (since I make it at work).
Oh and my friend Kyle grilled jerk tofu served as a taco with a spicy chipotle sauce. He gave me some of the tofu (to the right of the sandwich). It was delicious! I especially liked the sauce.
For dessert I prepared grilled pineapple with a dark brown sugar, lime, and vanilla sauce. My friend Kayla introduced me to this recipe. This pineapple is magical! You need to try it 
Mmmm I’m so full of grilled-veggie goodness! Did I mention I received my Ateco metal cake turntable in the mail? Well I got it yesterday and I can’t wait to use it. I hope I can bust out a cake tomorrow after work
