Vegan MoFo Day#21-Peanut Butter & Fresh Figs

fresh figs are amazing.even without peanut butter.they're definitely my second favourite fruit,after bananas.

they're SO sweet,and fruity,and special,and juicy,and special again because they're so delicate,expensive,and only available for a limited amount of time.but when you get them,and they have that little syrup running out of the top,and are super plump and juicy...it's like heaven.

SO,of course,they're a natural partner for peanut butter.eating fresh figs spread or dipped in straight peanut butter is like taking a spoon full of peanut butter and jam and sticking it in yr mouth.but more exotic,and with seeds.

please try it.

i love dried figs,with peanut butter aswell,but that's s different story for another post.

a fresh fig.

figs i got for free last thursday morning as part of some vitamin campaign

turkish and mission figs in portland back in june

S'mores Danishes!Portland;Let Live,Peanut Butter,Chocolate,Mangoes,Figs,a lot of Espresso and Espresso Drinks,Birthday Cake,and a bunch of Crazy Stuff

so last weekend i went to portland,or for the Let Live animal rights conference.
my friend glenn gaetz from liberation bc was one of the speakers,so a car full of us drove down.


glenn being really attractive when we ran into each other at whole foods the night before leaving.

and knowing how people are,i knew that i should make something not only for the car pool,but for friends in portland,too.so i made S'mores Dansihes.



i used both Dandies Vegan Marshmallows and Sweet and Sara Vegan Marshmallows.


straight from the oven,they puffed up like crazy.



but as you know,some people are haters and think s'mores danishes sounds like 'too much' or something,i made fig and raspberry danishes,too.



some homeless lady at the food carts at 12th and hawthorne wouldn't leave us alone,so i gave her a raspberry one.

speaking of portland,and the food carts at 12th and hawthorne...

Peanut Butter Truffle and Caramels by Missionary Chocolates.
the truffle was super awesome,so rich.
but the caramels were unbelieveable.oh and only $0.50!

the next day after the conference,jess and i went to Barista.

Soy Latte from Barista.
like drinking a cloud.amazing.
we opted for ecco cafe espresso over stumptown and 49th parallel(no intelligentsia that day)

and while i'm at it...

ALMOND/HEMP MILK Latte at Sweetpea Baking Company.
so i was kind of amazed by audra's latte art skills with almond/hemp milk(there's 1 place in vancouver that offers both of these milks for coffee,and they don't even try to do latte art with them...)and so when we saw her at the bye and bye on saturday night i was going on about how i'm a huge fan of hers through flickr,and the next day she made me this drink.and the taste was fantastic.a little hint of almond,and a lot sweeter than soy,but really really creamy.


loose trousers at the bye and bye.


soy macchiato at albina press.
that morning i had an espresso and an espresso macchiato with soymilk.
and i had 2 really wonderful baristas.
the blonde girl told me about how soymilk is sometimes easier to work with,especially now with the barista series soymilks which contain canola oil,and the brunette gu talked to me about how he studied sound art at smfa and how i'm going to cooper union in the fall.

and it's kind of a given how the coffee was.


soy macchiato at coffee plant.

moments after having incredible espresso at spella coffee cart with maeve and jess.

something like latte art...

i was planning to only be in portland for the weekend,but i stayed until wednesday and helped isa pack.oh,and i had to go to new seasons a lot.AND change the cat litter.it's like i never left home...
and i guess a few more to wrap up pdx eats...


Multigrain Apple Cranberry Bran Muffin from Black Sheep Bakery.
moist and really big and delicious.
I love bran muffins.


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bar from Laughing Planet on Mississippi.
ummm,WHY have i never heard anybody mention these before until isa asked me to get one when i picked up dinner?!


tried tay berries for the first time at new seasons.nothing too special.


and ate a lot of fresh figs.zomg.
the huge one is turkish brown,smaller ones and black mission.

speaking of fresh figs...


Chocolate Peanut Butter Coconut Bliss with Fresh Figs,Raspberries,Mango,and Banana.
so,yeah.i love peanut butter and mangoes,okay?and on monday after noon i went to the store to get chocolate ice cream and ended up getting this:



i've tried a few other flavours,and really liked the vanilla,but this was better.BUT there wasn't enough peanut butter.please work on that.also at the store i picked up:


isa really liked this one a lot.it did have really good texture,but i think chocolate ice cream is kinna lame,so i wish it had more fudge swirl.great texture though.isa said she liked it more than the coconut milk ones,but i haven't tried enough of those to be a good judge.

okay.end of portland.but not the end of peanut butter and mangoes...

Mango Peanut Butter Chocolate Parfait.
i made these a few days before i left.
it is layers of:
fresh mango
peanut butter mousse
chocolate mousse
banana
and topped with peanut butter granola






peanut butter mousse.


chocolate mousse.



Chocolate Mousse Birthday Cake.

i got a really immediate order for a birthday cake earlier in the week,so i utilized the mousse in a different way to make a cake.


chocolate cake
chocolate mousse filling
two layers chocolate ganache
more ganache and mousse ontop

same day i had an order for brownies...

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies.

and i'll end with the oldest stuff i've put off posting...


Go Max Go Candy Bars-Buccaneer and Jokerz.
i have to say,these candy bars and phenomenal.especially the Jokerz.(peanuts,duuh)especially from the freezer.dissolving in yr mouth,except is cold and hard and can only dissolve so much and then you bite into it and the frozen caramel and peanut butter and chocolate is so thick and chewy and rich...zedohmygod.
and i never even though about 3 musketeers bars since going vegan,but the whipped nougat in these is just like it,and again,so darn tasty.these are awesome.
at let live my friend joanne bought me a Mahalo,which i really liked,but not as much as these two.i did share it with somebody else though,so maybe i didn't get to fully appreciate it.whatevs,these things rule.

and post bake sale,pre portland...

the day after my last bake sale,sarah wanted more of the muffins i had made,so took me to whole foods to pay for the ingredients to make more Mixed Berry Muffins.


and i also made some Banana-Oatmeal-Coconut-Almond Muffins,just cause they're really good.


besides lots of muffins,i've been baking a lot of East Coast Coffee Cake from Vegan Brunch.

plain.


chocolate chip.


raisin.

one was for my dad who visited a few weeks ago from california.we went to gibsons,too.


and on the ferry ride i ate this:







and kind of like a ferry,but not,i took james,my brother's boyfriend on the sea bus for the first time.and i know that's not important,but i think he's like the best person ever and just want an excuse to post his picture.


soy latte at jj bean on main street in vancouver.

Vegan MoFo Day 28:Crumblz vs Chick o' Stick-a battle of great vegan peanut butter candy proportions

vs



Both Crumblz and Chick o' Stick have been proclaimed to taste like "the insides of a Butterfingers bar omgzed" by just about every vegan who tries them.I say vegan because my little brother shrugged his shoulders and said maybe not.
But,the thing is that they do.
And I even took some Crumblz,lined then up on some parchment,coated them in leftover ganache,and they were just like Butterfinger BBs.

Pros/Cons of Crumblz:
really peanut buttery
totally melt in yr mouth,save for a peanut now and again
come in a chocolate cococnut macadamia flavour(!!!)
really crumbly so when you add to ice cream there's little crumbs everywhere in the ice cream for you to eat!
all natural,no preservatives/nasty stuff
expensive and not sold in Canada,or a lot of places,like Whole Foods in Seattle


fun colour,right?!

Pros/Cons of Chick o' Stick:
pretty peanut buttery,but also quite coconutty-it IS a peanut butter toasted coconut candy.THOUGH,with crumblz you get plain,and there's a coconut one!
cheap!sold in lots of places like the scary run down convenience store near King station in Seattle!
no transfats,like you may expect!
melt in yr mouth,until you get some coconut
artificially coloured,but it IS a fun colour,right?


So,with this in mind I must say that Crumblz! is the winner!

It was somewhat of a difficult competition,because I do really like Chick O Stick,but Crumblz are so go eff-bombing good,and yeah,a lot peanut butter-y-er.

I brought back two bags of Crumblz with me from Portland earlier this month,and one Chick O Stick rod.
It's all gone,now.
I brought the Chick O' Stick out at Canadian thanksgiving ummm lunch thingy and offered it to everyone,and my sisters friends from acting class were really impressed.I think everyone had some except for Daniel,but he's a bisque who was angry that there were Sarah's guests because it meant less food/tofurkey for him,but then the next day I brought him all this free Tofurkey I got,so whatever.
Anyways,I actually got the Chick O Stick right outside of Olympia at a gas station driving back with Isa and Justin-it was about 9:30 or 10pm and I had eaten like nothing but a piece of chocolate at Taste of Health earlier that day,so I got a Chick O Stick.Justin said I was gross,I think.But then I fell asleep and next thing I knew I was in Portland.


p.s Crumblz and /or Chick O' Stick,send me free stuff!I could nmake so many awesome desserts incorporating yr candies,it would be great PR!

Vegan MoFo Day 21:Banana Cheesecake with Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Topping

'sup?
This is a banana cheesecake.Mmm.Banana-y.
It's an actual recipe,from a book called "Vegan Indulgence".
It's Australian!Find out more about it here.
It's a small cute book.I've seen the author on the ppk,but can't remember her user name right now.Anyways,I was given it by a friend while in Portland because the book calls for a lot of custard powder.Most recipes,actually.Anyways,I guess since us common wealth health care loving countries are so similar we have custard powder everywhere.I mean,it's the heart and soul of Nanaimo bars!I couldn't find it in the Save on Foods and told a clerk and they were shocked,but then we found it!It's a totally normal thing!Well,not for that freak country America.Wtf?Anyways,the book was almost useless to her,so I got it!And yay,because it looked really exciting.I saw it for sale at Food Fight! btw.The book,not custard powder.Maybe that have that too?



Anyways,this cheesecake is AWESOME!Suuuuper banana-y.So for banana lovers only.The texture is great!Really creamy.And dare I say"custard-y"?Sorry,i'm rubbing it in certain people's faces.
And I added a topping of peanut butter covered pretzels while it was hot out of the oven so the peanut butter melted down onto the cake a bit,and added a nice chocolate drizzle.
The book calls it Banana Cheezecake,with a "z",in case it matters.
It's a short book,but next I hope to make the Tiramisu,or Creme Bruleee.
THOUGH one huge complaint,is that there is not a single peanut butter recipe.Whatevs,I can add it like I did this one.