Chocolate always wins. It really isn’t fair to everything else – the noodle soups, the sides, the dips, the salads – always take second at best. Poor fried rice, you can come to my house any day.

Ok, so what am I on about? You see, I have an enormous backlog of posts… While I do enjoy the picture editing and post writing, I’d rather create and cook and photograph over anything else, and as I’m at home during the day most of my meals get styled and propped before being eaten.

So over the weekend I posted this pic with a comment that in honour of reaching 350 Facebook likes, 1200 Twitter followers and 400 Instagram followers everyone else got to choose what I would post next.

#1 won, so per usual dessert is being served first and I must admit, I’m not complaining.

Second place was taken out by #9 – Sweet Potato Fries and third by #8 – Asian Mushroom Soup, so among others not even included in the collage, these will be coming soon too. You are more than welcome to put in your vote down in the comments – it’s a moveable feast round these parts, quite literally.

The old saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade – or curd, or cake or tea for that matter – but what about when life serves up a big’ol seized, split mess intended for an Australian twist on Nutella?

First, you start again, twice, to figure out how on earth to make the spread work, then you stick the double batch of messy yet delicious mass into the fridge and think about it later.

The first thought was a twist on Vegan Cheesecake, but a combination of being out of macadamias and having both raw truffles made with chickpeas and brownies made with black beans floating around in my brain, sent me to the cupboard in search of legumes.

Into a food processor everything went and before I knew it this fudge was born. In the meantime I discovered that when the seized mess is re-blended once cold it turns smooth and creamy – I’ve updated the Choc Macadamia Spread recipe as this means rice syrup will work every time!

Ironically the bowl of kitchen fail was turned into a wonderful creation however I’m not remotely happy with the photos, figures. But they’ll do for now… sometimes you just have to roll with it!

For the recipe: Vegan Chocolate Fudge, PLUS 11 flavour twists

Source: 84thand3rd.com

Let’s talk comfort food, shall we? Sometimes you just need a little nibble to get you through some stressful situations, and sometimes that little nibble needs to contain all the things that make your soul feel a little warmer, a little more coddled, if you will. When I think of warming and comforting, my mind immediately wanders to the lovely rhizome ginger. It helps colds, settles tummy aches and nausea, and sometimes it makes for the perfect addition to a simple cookie. Yesterday evening,  my husband and I had quite a scare as out littlest one tumbled down our steep flight of city steps (hard hard wood that’s not the most gentle on teeny tiny noggins), thankfully only leaving a few loose teeth, a bunch of bruises and a little blood, but it left every single person in our house shaken up.

We snuggled for hours, thanked our lucky stars, and then we all fell hard and fast to sleep. When my little girl awoke, all bleary eyed, bumped, bruised and broken, she only had one request: cookies.

So, I went to work.  Since her little front toofers were aching, I knew they had to be super soft cookies.

These cookies are one of my favorites, and of course the little ones adore them too. They are a favorite around the Kramer household because they smell very fragrant while they cook (which lingers in your kitchen well after they are done baking), and once they cool, the cookies have an irresistibly soft texture that almost dissolves on the tongue with a crispy crunchy sugary coated outside. In other words, these are perfect comfort food for sad little tumblers.

For the recipe: Soft and Spicy Ginger Cookies

Source: manifestvegan.com

Tis the season for abundant giving, sharing, and showing love. And, I’m showing you lovely readers how much I adore you by offering an over-the-top candy covered cookie recipe and a chance to win a gadget that will help you whip up some healthier treats!

In addition to the cookie recipe, today I’m giving away a handy appliance that I think every cook needs: an immersion blender. These terribly convenient little blenders are perfect for pureeing soups, making dips and salsas, smoothing out sauces… and so much more. They truly do make great gifts, so I’m giving one away to one lucky reader who’s name will be drawn randomly and announced January 3rd.

For the recipe: Double Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

Source: manifestvegan.com

I come from a long line of dessert lovers. When I was growing up, my family ate dessert every night after dinner, and my parents still end each day with a bowl of ice cream (though my mother opts for an artificially sweetened one now). It’s a hard habit to break and one I’m afraid I’ve passed down to my daughter. But our typical dessert isn’t ice cream or even Soy Dream but fruit, plain and simple. Of course, if sugary vegan goodies are around, we’ll jump on them like a pack of starving dogs, which is why I try to keep them out of the house entirely.

Keeping the sugary stuff out of the house has been even more important since I resolved at the beginning of the year to cut out sugar and flour and increase the amount of vegetables I eat. If you’ve been following my KISSS plan, you know that I outlawed not just refined sugar but also dried fruit, such as dates. I’m going to say something that may be heresy to most proponents of unprocessed vegan diets, but I believe that dates, date sugar, and date syrup, especially in the large amounts that some recipes use, are only slightly less unhealthy than white sugar. Sure, dates contain vitamins and minerals and some fiber, but they are still a very concentrated form of sugar. If you’re like me and trying to eliminate your sweet tooth, moving from white sugar to date sugar isn’t going to stop your cravings.

For the recipe: Chocolate Chia Pudding

Source: blog.fatfreevegan.com