Shameless Self-Promotion and Happy Mail

If you enjoy reading food blogs, than chances are good that you’ve heard of The Daring Bakers –  you may even be a member. There have been some major changes happening with my favourite monthly baking rendez-vous and I am so excited to invite you to visit The Daring Kitchen. This brand new website is open to members and non-members alike and has lots of great weekly features like member spotlights, cookbook reviews and fun and informative food articles… like my new article that just went up yesterday on crêpes. So head over to the new site, check out the bells and whistles, read my article (duh!) and hey, if you haven’t already, why don’t you sign up to be a Daring Baker? Baking not quite your thing? Well, have no fear, because now you can sign up to be a Daring Cook! That’s right, we’re going to move our daring to the savory side of things, and as always Alternative Daring Cooks are more than welcome to help show the world that une cuisine sans cruauté is not just possible, it’s delicious! The first Daring Cooks challenge will be announced on April 17 so you have time to get in on the fun – head over to The Daring Kitchen and sign up today!

And now for some rather over-due Happy Mail thanks. First a big merci to Sophie of Her Heart, My Hands for this lovely loot  that I won (weeee!):

My lovely package contained the most delicious-smelling shampoo and conditioner, an adorable pin cushion and a sweet card. My hair also thanks you because this stuff is just lovely.

And because lady luck has been smiling on me, here are the fantabulous handmade bulk bags made by the supercalafragalistc Amy (aka Tahinitoo) :

These little bags are the perfect sizes for all my bulk and marché shopping needs! And because Amy is a sweetums she also added an adorable handmade card (that I had to wrangle back from Guppy. Shesh, kids.) and a super-cool patch from Herbivore (or was it Food Fight! Grr, I can’t remember now, must be nice to live in Portland, OR kids!) that I can wait to sew onto something fun!

So thank you to Sophie and Amy: you are both adorable, talented and very generous. I’m sending you virtual hugs and kisses right now!

Whatever Happaned to Sunday Dinners : The General, Mihl & a Monday suggestion (if I may…)

Before we get all food p*rny, I’d first like to apologize to Mihl of Seitan is My Motor. She is beautiful, talented, makes the most amazing cookies ever and shares delightful German recipes and cultural tidbits. Reading her blog is like taking a little trip to Dresden, and if you haven’t been over there lately, you should!

Why am I saying I’m sorry? Mihl so sweetly sent me super-delicious vegan Gummy Bears and an adorable handmade card decked out with origami animals and despite my best intentions, I inadvertently left her out of my Happy Mail round-up. I officially suck and will hang my head in shame as I compose the rest of this post

It’s almost Mardi Gras!!! Wooot! Here in France we don’t get as crazy-wild-fun as does our friend Kittee (I can’t wait to see pictures of her in her costume!), but it does mean crêpes! Love it! But wait, mardi is Tuesday…whatever will we eat on Monday? May I suggest you make yourself some extraordinary New Orleans Style Red Beans? I made these last Monday and good grief did my house smell amazing all morning while those beans were simmering!

Delicious, simple beany goodness served over a mix of wheat berries, wild rice and whole white rice. Leftovers were enjoyed rolled up in tortillas. So easy, so nutritious and so affordable!

And now on to Sunday Dinner, which is brought to you today by the letter “K” as in Krys of Two Vegan Boys. She served up some General Tao’s Tofu the other day and it got me craving take out Chinese again (what is up with that?). The recipe is here though I just used it as a guideline : I doubled the sauce, played with the spices a little, cursed the fridge gods for not having any peppers or green onions, and thanked them for the broccoli, mushrooms, green beans, cauliflower and carrots I did have. Oh yum. Thanks for the inspiration, Krys!

This was the first time I dipped tofu in an egg replacer before giving it a good cornstartch coat. I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure if it was necessary. I think just giving it a little dip in some non-dairy milk or even just a smidge of water would have worked fine. Just sayin’.