AWARE in Lake Tahoe

This month marks the beginning of what will be several months of quite a lot of travel. With several events coming up and The Joy of Vegan Baking making its way around the globe, I am so thrilled to be traveling in the spring. The cookbook first came out in the fall/winter of 2007, which meant some pretty cold east coast trips, honored as I was to share my vegan thoughts with peeps in D.C., Boston, and New York. Brrrrr....

Speaking of cold weather, this weekend I had the privilege of speaking in Lake Tahoe at the Lake Tahoe Community College, via the fabulous group called Lake Tahoe A.W.A.R.E. (Advocates for Wellness, Animal Rights, and the Environment) and was thrilled with the turn-out. After I spoke about the myths of being vegan, we were all treated to a full meal of dishes made from my recipes - and *I* didn't have to cook! A handful of culinary students volunteered to prepare my Three-Bean Chili, Caesar Salad, No-Queso Quesadillas, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Banana Walnut Muffins. The food was fabulous, the people were incredibly friendly and responsive, and the weather - though a tad chilly - was really beautiful. Couldn't have asked for more.

THANK YOU to Esta Lewin, founder of the 5-year-old A.W.A.R.E. group, for all she does to raise awareness and promote a compassionate, plant-based diet; thanks to the students who prepared a beautiful feast for 100 people; and thank you to all the folks who came out to hear the talk - despite the 35-degree weather!

My new right arm, Chris Marco, took lots of pictures, but it seems that I don't stand still long enough to get a decent photo of me while I gab. So amid the goofy photos, I found a few I could share with you.

Though many people I spoke to at the event lamented that Lake Tahoe didn't have too many options in terms of restaurants, we were actually quite thrilled with what we found. Though David and I had been to Sprouts several times and certainly had a lot of vegan things to choose from on their menu, the three of us did find that we all ordered - without really meaning to - virtually the same thing. My Tostada was almost identical to Chris' Rice Bowl, which was perfectly similar to David's Tempeh Burger.

So, the next day we headed to another veg-friendly restaurant in town, called Freshies, whose incredibly vegan-friendly menu gave us a lot to choose from. In fact, I'm still obsessing over the East Indian Spinach Salad I ate with glee: a huge amount of spinach with coconut, mangos, perfectly spiced tofu, with a chutney dressing. It was just delicious. Oh yeah - and the "Tri Fries" were spicy and fantastically yummy!

After spending some time (probably far too much) at the Pirate shop across the way from Freshies and photographing David in the array of piratey hats, we walked around the lake and laughed - a lot.

Tea snob that I am, I tend to judge a restaurant by how they treat the tea-drinking populus, and I must say, I just wish restaurant served real tea, loose tea, good tea instead of the generic stuff in a bag. Trust me - it's not the same thing! To their credit, the servers at Freshies, went out of their way to make sure we had rice milk for our Chai Tea, and though I was grateful, I still wished I hadn't left my green tea back at the hotel.

Finally, speaking of the hotel (Inn at the Lake), it's worth mentioning that their breakfast room is free to guest and offered bananas, apples, oatmeal, hot water, bagels, and cereal. I plan on recommending that they offer a non-dairy milk with which to eat the cereal, but the breakfast room was a nice touch, and the hotel is right across the street from the lake.

All in all, it was a great trip, and I look forward to spreading the vegan word in Denver, Detroit, and Cleveland.....next on the agenda.

Joy of Vegan Baking Named "Cookbook of the Year"!

I'm very honored and thrilled to announce that VegNews Magazine has graced The Joy of Vegan Baking with their 2007 Veggie Award, naming it Cookbook of the Year. Considering all the fantastic veg cookbooks out there, this is quite an honor.

This is the second Veggie Award we have received, as they crowned me the "Vegan Martha Stewart" in 2005. :)

Thanks to VegNews Magazine and to all of you who have been posting such positive reviews on Amazon and on their blogs. My intention in writing this book was to demystify "vegan baking" for vegans and non-vegans alike, and I'm just thrilled with the reception is has been getting.

Here's what VegNews had to say:

Cookbook of the Year: The Joy of Vegan Baking
In 1931, Irma Rombauer self-published The Joy of Cooking, a collection of no-nonsense recipes that became an instant classic, selling 15 million copies to date. More than 75 years later, we predict that Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s new cookbook, The Joy of Vegan Baking, will make history of its own. Rising to the top of veggie superstardom, Colleen is a one-woman powerhouse. Her entrepreneurial repertoire includes a wildly popular cooking DVD, sold-out cooking classes, natural-food-market tours, a weekly podcast, and a magazine column. Oh, and the new cookbook. The VN staff was stunned by the array of recipes (150 in all), amount of insight and tips, and mouthwatering photography. From Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, Cherry Pie, and Mexican Wedding Cookies to Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes, Raspberry Oatmeal Bars, and even Caramel Popcorn, The Joy of Vegan Baking has you covered for every occasion.