Winners!
January 31, 2009
Well, the results are in and we have our winners of the Ritter Sport and Sweet Freedom goodie pack contest!
Here’s how I selected them: First, I went to Random.org and asked for 6 random numbers between 1 and 120. Then I went through the numbers in the order they appeared in the random list. The first entry from Toronto won the baked goods; after that, everyone else (whether from Toronto or not) won a Peppermint Ritter Sport.
I’ve copied and pasted the list here. I’m afraid I don’t know how to capture the screen exactly as it looks on the Random. org page (can anyone help me with that?), but I promise that this is the actual list that appeared when I hit the “Get Numbers” button. And if anyone can tell me how to copy the content from the original page onto my blog (for the next contest), I’d be much obliged!
(“Yes, we can vouch four our Mum because we were in the room while she was on the computer. . . well, okay, maybe we were actually wrestling on the floor at the time, but we trust our Mum. She always gives us treats when she says she will.”)
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
26 19 35 108 29 28
Timestamp: 2009-01-31 14:04:51 UTC
In other words, the winners are:
TA-DA!
19: Shelby–Ritter Sport #1
26: VEGAN LISA–YOU WIN THE TREATS!!
28: Michelle–Ritter Sport #2
29: Animal-Friendly–Ritter Sport #3
35: Ellie–Ritter Sport #4
108: Joanne (Apple Crumbles)–Ritter Sport #5
Congratulations to all the winners! I’ll be contacting you via email. And if you happen to read this before you hear from me, please email me at dietdessertdogs AT gmail DOT com to get in touch!
This was really a fun contest for me. I loved reading all the entries, and your enthusiasm was contagious! Thanks, everyone, for entering.
And as I mentioned before, there will be one contest each month until the cookbook is published, so you can always enter again later for another chance to win!
Have a great weekend (and to my American friends, enjoy the Superbowl–but honestly, does anyone really enjoy the Superbowl??).
Ricki 🙂
Baking Like Blanche Dubois
May 4, 2008
DIET, DESSERT AND DOGS has moved!
If you’re reading this page, you’ve landed on the old site. Please visit the new location by clicking here–and don’t forget to update your readers and blogrolls!
As always, thanks for reading. I look forward to seeing you at the shiny new Diet, Dessert and Dogs!
“Um, Mum, we are coming with you, aren’t we? Because (and sorry to have to tell you this), we actually have more fans than you do on this blog.”]
When I was organizing my photos this weekend, I came across a fair number that I’ve never used in blog posts. Not sure why; maybe it’s that my (relatively new) blog-related compulsion to photograph virtually every dish I cook, bake, or eat has produced a backlog. It also struck me that I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers to provide inspiration, unique recipes, or novel combinations of ingredients that often direct me in my cooking and baking exploits. And what better way to acknowledge their inspiration than to showcase some of these photos–and their recipes–here?
Since I began my “Total Health” kick just over a week ago, I’ve steered clear of most sweets, including my greatest desire, chocolate. I have to admit that the restriction feels a tad less torturous this time than during the WOCA, when I would have hopped on the nearest streetcar named “Chocolate” and happily gone wherever it took me. Well, as it turns out, most of my photos depict desserts–how perfect for a sultry Sunday evening! So here are some of the lost treasures that have been baked in the DDD household over the past few months:
These chocolate-cranberry biscotti, adapted from a recipe in Patricia Greenberg’s Whole Soy Cookbook, were my first attempt at these crisp coffee-dunkers. I wish I’d read Romina’s post about her own version before I made these, as I definitely baked them too long. While visually appealing, they were probably more useful as paperweights or doorstops than cookies. After a long soak in a hot tub cup of tea or coffee, though, they were just fine.
Next up were Vegan Magic Cookie Bars from Susan’s blog. When I was a kid, we called these “Hello Dollies” in our house (Why “Dolly?” No idea.). Susan warns that these are definitely not fat-free. Having said that, they were gooey, rich, and deliciously decadent. I had to give the rest away or I would have consumed them all.
These speckled darlings are Lemon-Zucchini Poppyseed Muffins adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Laura Matthias’s Extraveganza. With a tender, ethereal lightness, these muffins seemed almost too fragile for this world. Didn’t stop us from eating them, of course.
These gorgeous, golden beauties are Sweet Potato and Cranberry Scones, a test recipe for Anne-Kristin at Swell Vegan. I adored these–juicy with tart cranberries, a base that’s satisfying, lightly spiced and not too sweet, with the expected heft you’d get from a conventional biscuit. The HH and I thoroughly enjoyed these for breakfast (oh, and a few snacks).
Another recipe courtesy of a fellow blogger: this Raw Carrot Cake and Cashew Cheeze Frosting hails from Lindsay over at Day to Day Vegan. I’d been wanting to try this cake ever since Valentine’s Day, when we both participated in the Vegetable Love contest! My version came out a bit softer than Lindsay’s, so I just popped it in the freezer for about 20 minutes before unmolding and frosting. Raw, with a mysterious magnetism. . . This was yummy!
Finally, here’s a photo of the Double Chocolate Fudge Brownies from Ellen Abraham’s amazing cookbook, Simple Treats. These are, quite simply, one of the best brownies I’ve ever baked or eaten. See those chocolate chips gleaming in the sunlight? These are so good, I have to show them again. From another angle:
Everyone I’ve ever served these to has flipped over them. Aren’t they just stellar?? In fact, they might make you want to rush from the apartment, down the fire escape to the sidewalk below, and bellow at the top of your lungs, “STELLA-R! HEY, STELLA-RRRRRRR!!!!!!”
(Well, you just knew that’s where I was going with this one, didn’t you?).
Thanks to all my baking muses! Now, back to reading more blogs for new ideas. . .
Bean There, Done That: Gluten-Free Brownies
February 1, 2008
DIET, DESSERT AND DOGS HAS MOVED!
If you’re reading this page, you’ve landed on the old site. Please visit the new location by clicking here–and don’t forget to update your readers and blogrolls!
As always, thank you for reading. I look forward to seeing you at the shiny new home of Diet, Dessert and Dogs!
“Mum, we are coming with you, aren’t we? Because (and sorry to have to tell you this), we actually have more fans on this blog than you do.”
Years ago, when I taught a course called “Feeding Body and Soul,” students were asked to contribute a recipe that had been handed down in their family as a way to illustrate the power of food through the generations. One young woman (who, in her words, had been “raised by hippies”) gave me a recipe for Navy Bean Muffins, made from the usual ingredients but using pureed navy beans instead of flour. I thought this twist was just groovy, man, and resolved to some day make them myself.
Well, that day hasn’t yet arrived, but I did think of beans as the perfect addition to my GF brownies, about which I posted last Monday. This recipe for Gluten-Free Brownies is one of three for chocolate treats with hidden healthy ingredients, just up today on VegFamily magazine. To see the other two as well, check out the entire article.
The hidden gem in these rich, chocolately squares is pureed beans. Now, before you go running to the hills, consider that many gluten-free recipes contain bean flours (such as chickpea, gram, soybean, etc.), so this recipe just takes the concept a step back, to the unprocessed, whole beans before they’re dried and pulverized. And beans add a great boost of protein to any recipe, along with both soluble and insoluble fiber, and a host of minerals.
Initially, I thought that pureeing the beans in a food processor would be sufficient, but found the final product a bit grainy that way. But cooking the beans really well, then pureeing in a blender, did seem to do the trick.
Because of the added loveliness of the legumes, I’m going to submit this recipe to My Legume Love Affair, hosted by The Well-Seasoned Cook.
Oh, and Sally, this one’s for you! 🙂
Gluten-Free Chocolate-Walnut Brownies
FOR THE RECIPE, PLEASE VISIT THE NEW DIET, DESSERT AND DOGS BY CLICKING HERE.