The Alchemist Pub and Brewery

 

 

Last night my husband, Neil, decided he would take us out for a date night at The Alchemist Pub and Brewery in Waterbury Vermont- “The Alchemist is a 7 barrel brew pub specializing in hand-crafted beer and casual pub fare. All of our ales flow directly from our basement brewery, which was designed and installed by our brewer and co-proprietor John Kimmich.  We use only the finest imported malts and domestic hops available to bring you the tastiest and finest selection of beers in Vermont!” (from their website).

We settled on getting the oatmeal stout and the red….however we were brought a porter and a harvest.  They quickly apologized about that mistake and gave us our correct beers on the house.

For dinner I ordered the Marinated Tempeh Sandwich without the walnut pesto and subsituted the maple balsamic dressing.  Neil ordered the Blackened Tofu Burrito without the cheese and sour cream.  We also ordered a side of fries with their house made mustard and ketchup.

 

Although our meals were really good we didn’t make it through the first bite of the burrito because they had forgotten to not put the cheese on.  So we sent it back and it was quickly replaced with the correct vegan version.  The tempeh sandwich was so good and the fries were amazing- nice and crispy fresh cut. The burrito was good we really liked the blackened tofu but it was missing something in it, maybe the salsa would have been better in than on the side.

Overall we just fell in love with the places great atmosphere, food and beer.  We extremely impressed with the service as well and appreciated the 2 free beers and the free burrito (they covered that as well since they had made the mistake- we really didn’t expect that but it was a great treat).

Neil’s Vegan Care Package

Yesterday Neil’s vegan care package came from Your Daily Vegan as part of our 2009 Vegan Care Package Swap

Included in the package are the following:

Drew’s Smoked Tomato Dressing

Suzanne’s Ricemellow Creme

(I see fluffernutter sandwiches in our future)

Spicy Apple Ginger Chews

Rice Milk Bar

Pizza Sauce

Crispy Cat Bar

Vegan Strawberry Jello

Quinoa Spaghetti

2 Chocolove Bars &

Newman’s Own Cinnamon Mints 

Nutridel Cookies

I recently had the opportunity to try Nutridel Gourmet Cookies, which were delicious. Nutridel which was created by combining Nutritious and Delicious has created cookies that are just that. These cookies are cholesterol free, have zero trans-fat, are loaded with fiber and antioxidants, have no refined sugars and are filled with omega 3’s.  Now here is a healthy cookie that you don’t have to feel bad about eating. 

There are four types of cookies that you can try: Oatmeal, Almond, Flaxseed and Pecan.  I tired the Oatmeal and Almond both of which were delicious.  They are thin crispy cookies with a light sweetness. I really enjoyed both of the cookies but the oatmeal was both my and my husbands favorite. 

 

You can check out the website for retail locations near you or order online.

Zeppoles

For a really fun dessert (and super easy) I’d try Italian Donuts (Zeppoles).
This is a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis (I love to veganize her recipes however this one just happens to be vegan!)
Italian Doughnuts
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Prep Time:15 min
Cook Time:15 min
Level:Easy
Serves:18 doughnuts
Ingredients
1 pound prepared pizza dough
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Olive oil, for deep-frying
Directions
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a floured 2-inch cookie cutter, cut out doughnut rounds. Using a floured 1-inch cookie cutter, cut out a hole in the center of each doughnut. Gather the dough scraps and reroll. Cut out more doughnuts.
Whisk the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl to blend. Set the cinnamon-sugar aside.
Pour equal parts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F. Working in batches, fry the doughnuts until they puff but are still pale, about 45 seconds per side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Cool slightly. While the doughnuts are still warm, generously coat each 2 times with the cinnamon-sugar. Serve warm.
Alternately, cool the fried doughnuts to room temperature. Stir 3 ounces of milk (dark) chocolate and 1/4 cup of whipping (soy creamer) cream in a heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat until the chocolate melts. Set aside until the chocolate sauce comes to room temperature but does not set. Dip 1 side of each doughnut into the chocolate mixture. Sprinkle with finely chopped toasted almonds or crushed espresso beans and set aside until the chocolate is set.

 These are also great if you serve them traditionally in a brown paper bag because they are tradtional street food in Italy and then have chocolate and raspberry dipping sauces on the side.  This is one of my favorite (fun impressive and interactive desserts to make for guest).  It’s easy and who doesn’t love a doughnut…..especially a vegan one!

 

@gomelissago is making these tonight and serving them with a lemon basil sauce! sounds great doesn’t it?

WINNER of Annie Chun’s Giveaway

After adding up the entries and extra chances there were 47 total.  

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The winner of the Annie Chun’s Giveaway is Sue !

Please check out the Annie Chun’s Giveaway posted under the Vegan Giveaway’s Tab.

Thanksgiving Turkey

This Thanksgiving rather than eating a turkey why not adopt one? You can do so through Farm Sanctuary’s Adopt-A-Turkey Project.

 

We adopted Gideon! 

Review: Xan Confections

Xan Confections was kind enough to send me some wonderful chocolate treats from their Jewels Collection and Saintly Sins. I was delighted when I opened the box to these fancy chocolates – the kind you see in chocolatier shops but are never vegan.

The Jewel Collection  includes 5 non-dairy, gluten free caramels and are delicious. The flavors include Coconut Pecan Caramel, Espresso Almond, Butterscotch Caramel, Ancho Chili Caramel and Chocolate Caramel; all of which are delicious. I have to say my favorite was the Anch Chili Caramel though it has as nice spice that hits the back of your throat.

The Saintly Sin Collection  are chocolates that have only 29 calories, 1 gram of fat and 5 grams of carbohydrates per piece and are diabetic friendly, gluten free and vegan friendly. How can you not love a piece of chocolate that is only 29 calories and comes in Raspberry Sin, Strawberry Sin and Pineapple sin? I have to strawberry was my favorite and my husband and I didn’t feel bad about sharing all 3 of them in one sitting.

Now you can just jump online and order these delicious treats and don’t forget to check out their Ladybug Truffles, Signature Collection and BigMouth Collections as well. Oh yeah and if you are lucky enough to live in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Michigan or Nevada check out the Xan Confections  site for the retail locations near you.

Boston & Veg Fest 2009

This past weekend my husband and I headed south to Lowell & Boston for the weekend.  We stayed in Chelmsford and decided that we just had to go to Life Alive for dinner in Lowell.  We visited the cafe the same weekend last year and they actually had a booth at Boston Veg Fest 2008 (they didn’t have one this year though.)

I enjoyed The Swami which had a- (as described on the menu)- ”Miso Curried Sauce sweetening a masterfully-tasty mix of tamari roasted almonds, flame raisins, pearl onions, dark greens, broccoli flowerrs, and shredded carrots, served over brown rice with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.”

Neil enjoyed The Emperor- (as described on the menu)- ”Sweet and nutty short grain brown rice, melted cheddar cheese, sundried tomatoes, steamed greens, sweet yellow corn, shredded carrots, tofu and sunflower sprouts crowned by our Satisfying Sesame Miso sauce.”  He got it without the cheese obviously and subsituted with raisins and nutritional yeast.

Neil loved his dinner so much that he just had to hug about it.

For breakfast Saturday morning we went to our old standby Bagel Rising- inside the Espresso Royale on Newbury Street.  We both got the ’Joy of Soy’ on a whole wheat everything bagel; mine with jalapeno tofu spread and Neil’s with veggie tofu spread.  I enjoyed a double espresso and Neil a soy chai. 

We love Life Alive so much that we went back again for dinner Saturday night.  We started out with a shot of wheatgrass.

I’m boring and got The Swami again- this time with squash.

Neil got The Rebel – (as described on the menu)- ”Sesame ginger nama dressing with flax oil and Braggs, tofu, carrots, beets, dark greens, broccoli and hijiki steamed over quino and short grain brown rice”- They were all out of quinoa so he just had brown rice and I gave him half my squash.

For breakfast Sunday we went to Newton Center to Prana Cafe- a mostly raw cafe that serves it’s full menu from 7am-4pm.

I ordered the Burrito – (as described on the menu)-”Wrapped in chard leaves with refried beans, avocado, marinated vegetables, and sour cream.”  I have to say this was the best thing that I had all weekend and was a ridiculous amount of food.

My husband decided that he would be nice and take a picture of me eating the biggest bite ever.

Neil had the Prana Burger – (as described on the menu) -”Taylor grew up in Chicago eating deep fried hamburgers at a favorite family restaurant. This tastes so much better and actually fills your body with the best vitamins, minerals, and enzymes ever so you feel satisfied but not slowed-down. Served on our homemade-n-hearty onion bread.”  This came with yummy crispy kale chips and Neil ordered cashew cheese on top.  It was delicious!

 

We finally made our way to the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival where we enjoyed trying the different samples and meeting various vendors.  We are excited though because we met the owners of a new vegan B&B on Cape Cod and we are excited to check them out.  The owner told us that the vegetarian one we had visited last year is now closing so they are opening to fill the need. 

We stopped up to the noon demo but were really disappointed with it and decided to leave about 10 minutes in.  It drove me nuts that they guy kept calling omnivores carnivores …..seriously??

Anyways the fest was fun but after two years of visiting I don’t think we would go again unless we happened to be in Boston the same weekend it was going to be happening.

We did leave the fest with a wonderfully sinfull treat from Vegan Treats- the Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Bomb- which was incredible.

Pacific Naturals Giveaway Winners

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Result:4

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Grand Prize Winner is Melissa! Melissa won 1 box of Pacific Naturals Almond Milk, 1 Pacific Naturals Tea and 1 Coupon for a free Pacific Naturals product

 

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Result:12

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2nd Prize goes to Amanda- who wins 1 coupon for a free Pacific Naturals product

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Result:14

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3rd Prize goes to Nick- who wins 1 coupon for a free Pacific Naturals product

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I will be e-mailing you soon to get your addresses- or if you don’t hear from me first you can e-mail me at lindsay[at]cookingforaveganlover[dot]com

The last Vegan Mofo Post: Boston Veg Fest 2009

My hubz and I decided that we are going to Boston Veg Fest again this year.  Last year besides getting to hear Sarah Kramer speak I wasn’t overly impressed.  I was hopping for more information about vegetarianism and not just tons of products (and there weren’t as many samples as I expected).  However I’m open to trying it again and seeing what is there this year. 

I am also excited because we have decided to stay in Lowell again this year (Boston was just too expensive for the night…..Lowell=1/4 of the price and only 30min away).  Also Lowell has Life Alive which has delicious, healthy food and is amazing.  Also planning on hitting up Prana Cafe in Newton Corners, Grezzo and our favorite Bagel Rising.

 

Alright I’m out blog Monday!