Blog Tour! Whole Grain Vegan Baking Book

Blog tour time! Today, I'm gonna talk about my huge love for Whole Grain Vegan Baking. Yesterday you heard from Mihl and tomorrow you will here from Jess! Check out the full schedule for Celine and Tami's blog tour here. 

So, it's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Celine and Tami's recipes. I've been recipe testing for them for awhile now, years even, and their latest book to come out, Whole Grain Vegan Baking, is up there on my all-time-favorites list of cookbooks, like ever. I've made a lot of the recipes from this book, during the testing stage, and still after. There was a lot to learn from this book and it definitely gave me some major love for whole grains that I did NOT have before.  I learned that Spelt flour is the best ever AND I WANNA PUT IT IN EVERYTHING. I have a newfound love affair with Barley flour, and I never ever would have known that. I learned that I do not like Amaranth flour (to each their own!) Most importantly, I learned that whole grains taste waaaay better than plain white flour once you have a good, balanced recipe to work from (we've all tried to make "healthy" cookies or something that turned out tasteless and bleh before yeah?) There is a certain depth in the flavor of whole grain baked goods that I have come to appreciate and even prefer over the standard white flour varieties. Win!

I have lots of favorites from this book, including the pizza crust, the pitas, the kale quiche, the wild mushroom & arugula pie, Speculoos DOUGHNUTS, sweet potato waffles, coconut-spice granola, the english muffin bread, Pull-apart Cinnamon Bread, and so so many more. Seriously, there is something for everyone in here.

Anyways, for this stop on their blog tour, I wanted to devote this post to your sweet tooth. Because, mmm sweet tooth. I was on kind of a no-sugar kick for the last few months leading up to my wedding, and what better way to break that restriction on myself with some tasty (healthy-ish) sweets!

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CONTEST TIME!

Also, CONTEST! Weee! Celine, Tami, and their publisher have graciously offered up one copy of Whole Grain Vegan Baking to a lucky reader here.

*EDIT: Winner has been chosen, thank you! Congrats to Becca!

To enter: Leave me a comment, by Monday at Midnight EST, telling me a bad experience you have had with whole grain baking. Let's let it all out, therapy-style, and then never think about it again, because you are going to make so many delicious whole grain recipes when you get this book!
*Don't forget to leave your email address!
*Unfortunately, this contest is only open to those in the U.S. and Canada (I'm sorry...) The publisher will ship it straight to the winner

I will pick a winner on Tuesday, via Random.org. Good luck!

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Speculoos Doughnuts!

Sweet Potato Waffles!

Whole and Oats Cookies. (hehehe)

VeganMofo 2010: The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life

Strummer love!

I've been a fan of the Urban Housewife blog for awhile now and was super-excited to finally meet up with Melisser last year, during one of her visits to NYC.  Call me triple-excited when she asked me if I wanted to contribute some illustrations to the book that she was working on! Well here it is, a year or so later, and I have the actual book in my hands and it is just so great.  Packed full of information, yummy recipes, and amazing interviews with cool chicas, it is a unique book in the ever-exploding market of vegan books that have/are coming out.

The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life touches on just about everything,  from the different reasons behind going vegan, nutrition, common questions and misconceptions, traveling, community, and activism.  My favorite part of this book is all the interviews scattered throughout, with some pretty amazing vegan ladies out there.  It was so fun to see familiar faces and interviews with some of my favorite bloggers, like Melanie, Jess, JoJo, and Marika, and favorite business owners, like Kerry, Leanne, and Jeannette.  Yummy recipes are also included with some contributions from Melisser herself, Celine, Terry, Constanze, and Hannah, among others.  Also, some DIY projects that would be perfect for the upcoming holiday gift-giving season!

Purchase VGGTL here or in person at one of her book-signing dates!  I went to the signing this past Saturday at Champs Bakery (mmm, vegan danishes!) and would highly recommend you get your hands on this pretty book soon!

November 28th Paris, FR at Paris Vegan Day, book signing and talk
November 30th Manchester, England at The Thirsty Scholar, 6pm to 8pm
Brighton date TBA (leads welcome!)
December 4th London, UK at Vx, book signing and talk 2pm to 6pm - 5% off all Vx purchases at the event!