Nanny Foodchain's Tarallucci Cookies! My FAVORITE

Like, oh my god, my favorite cookies ever were the ones my late Grandmother ("Nanny") used to make every xmas. She called them "tattalouch" but I think the more widely-known name is "tarralucci." Let's call them that so that people searching the vast interweb can find this recipe.

I've been wanting to resurrect this recipe for a few years now, but as the original recipe was not vegan, I knew it'd be a challenge. I also knew I could do it, and this year, I did. So here you go, the veganized version of Nanny Foodchain's "tattalouch"/tarralucci cookies.

N a n n y  F o o d c h a i n ' s  T a r r a l u c c i  C o o k i e s   O M G  M y  F a v o r i t e  E v e r 

Dough Ingredients:

5 cups flour
6 tsp of Ener-G Egg Replacer + 8 TB of water, thoroughly mixed together
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup Earth Balance
1 cup unrefined sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk
1 tsp lemon extract (a little more if you're feeling lucky, or use lemon zest if you're feeling fancy)
1 tsp vanilla

Icing Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar that's not processed through bone char
However much vanilla soy milk it takes to make the mixture into a pasty liquid
1 tsp lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. After you mix the dough ingredients together, flour your hands, then take a chunk at a time and roll it between your hands until it forms a log. You'll want the log to be roughly the size of a small dog's turd. Think maybe the size of the turd of, say, a 2-month old Pitbull puppy named Sprinkles at a kill-facility. Once you have your log, twist it into a little, swirly pile. Repeat this process until you have no more dough.

Bake for roughly 10 minutes. Maybe more. The bottom of each "pile" should be golden brown around the outside. The insides will be cake-like.

Don't wait for the cookies to cool. Take your icing mixture and spoon it over each cookie. If you want, decorate by sprinkling Florida Crystals or some other form of vegan sprinkles on top. Hey, adopting Sprinkles is vegan, by the way.


Another hey, sometimes Nanny Foodchain liked to dye the dough red and green. You could probably get yourself just a little beet juice and dye the dough a nice pink OR red. Not sure if food coloring is vegan. I haven't used it in years. Anyone know?

I just want to bite into that lemony, vanillay, cakey goodness.

Swirly piles!!!!

haaaaaay.

And did you know these cookies are famous now?

20% Discount for fashion that's vegan and eco-friendly

There's a new company for those who are in the market for some 100% cotton, made-in-the-US, stylish clothing but don't want to feel dirty for buying it.

Ecolissa is a vegan-owned company selling clothing and accessories. All products are 100% vegan, earth-friendly, US-made, stylish, and tend to be made of very comfy materials. 

I particularly dig this skirt, pictured below, which is made of 100% organic cotton.

photocred.

If you like ecolissa's stuff, but don't have the bank to afford it right now (or if you do and just wish to spend less), I've got a coupon for you! Yep, ecolissa has offered to give chooseyourownfoodchain readers a 20% discount. Even on sale items! (The skirt above is on sale...ya know, in case anyone wanted to get me an Xmas present or something ;)).

The coupon code is: "vegan20"

photo cred

Move over, Dov Charney.

TODAY! foodchain selling @ Holiday Sale in Hollywood

Last-Minute Shopping | Local Artists | Vintage Sellers | Vegan Pizza

TODAY, Sunday, 12/19/10!!!

Holiday Craft & Vintage Sale 

To be held INDOORS at 1445 N. Gardner St. in Hollywood (Just south of Sunset, next to the firestation)

Come check out foodchain, my vegan brand of handmade jewelry & accessories!

Cash or Paypal only, please.

Review of Gardein's Seven Grain Crispy Tenders

Ah, vegan meat. My boyfriend and I just tried Gardein's "seven grain crispy tenders." Even though I find the packaging a little annoying, I thought the actual tenders were pretty great. Could use a little salt. Still pretty great, though. J thought it was the best store-bought faux chicken nugget he'd ever tried. We both agreed that Gardein really nailed the breading on these. Nice and criiiiispy!

(photocred.)

Oh, and as the company points out (on the package), these little nugs have "ancient grains" in them. Ancient grains. Since when did people start calling kamut, quinoa, and millet by their historical origins? I've been seeing this everywhere lately! Pretty sure it makes us look stupid, as though we don't know much about our food (oh, wait...). And how is it that Gardein has a copyright on kamut? Whaaaat?

But I digress. And I will buy these again.

Waaant moooore. (photocred.)

Mama Foodchain's Pasta E Fagioli

When I was visiting my family in Pennsylvania for ThanksLiving last week, I had the luxury of trying out my mom's new soup recipe. It is inspired from a recipe she'd found in the newspaper, which she veganized specifically for me (Mama Foodchain is not vegan herself...yet). It's pretty simple to make and yet it tastes fabulous. So lovely on a cold day.

The soup is awesome the way it is written below, but if you're looking to add more greens, Mama Foodchain and I both agreed that the perfect ingredients to include would be lima beans, chopped okra, or spinach.

M a ma  F o o d c h a i n ' s  P a s t a  E  F a g i o l i

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Sea salt, to taste
14 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
3/4 can tomato paste (standard-sized can)
6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup elbow macaroni
Ground black pepper, to taste
Nutritional yeast, to taste
Love

Rinse the chickpeas and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic, rosemary, pepper flakes, and salt. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion has softened.

Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil.

Remove the rosemary stalk. Add the rosemary leaves and the nutritional yeast to the pasta. Reduce to a simmer and cook approximately 12 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Serve with love.


I don't have a photo of this. Sometimes with delicious food, I completely forget about taking photos. So instead, here are some photos from my visit to Animal Acres on my birthday this year. In case you're wondering, my birthday was November 27th, and I do accept late presents if you're so inclined. ;)

Cowboy the calf, who's grown a LOT since the last I saw him! They just found a forever home for him, too.

Goats do like to pose with humans, in case you didn't know.

Have you ever seen more bliss than this?

Just relaxing in the shade. Most of the other cows were doing the same when I took this.

Go See Bold Native NOW

A few weeks ago, I had the luck of meeting Casey Suchan at a friend's birthday event. She told me about her new movie and said it'd be screening that following Saturday. I told her it was my birthday that day, and so I'd probably be doing something celebratory. This seemed to produce excitement rather than disappointment, which confused me at first, as I was basically telling her I wouldn't be able to make it. Her response?

"It's my birthday, too!"

As a wishful believer in the zodiac, I simply can't say no to someone that shares my birthday. This is what ultimately convinced me to go see the LA screening of Bold Native last weekend, and I'm so glad I did. Even though I've been vegan for over five years now, I felt transformed after leaving the theater that night. It's the kind of movie that leaves an imprint on your visual cortex and lingers in your moral conscience. It's also the kind of movie that leaves a small mark on your partner's hand, from squeezing it so hard.

I urge you, go see this movie. No matter who you are, it will challenge you. And it could change your life.

You know it's good when I buy the shirt.

If you happen to live near Brown University, you can see it today, for FREE, with FREE vegan Indian food. This is a wonderful opportunity!

If you don't see your city or university on the list, email them to request a screening.

Doooo it nowwww!