Maternal Instincts

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau of Compassionate Cooks talks about the primal instincts all mammals have for their young and the effects of commodifying animals and people.




I'll be releasing a video podcast come 2010, but in the meantime, I'm releasing clips on different topics as a kind of preview. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube video page to be notified when new videos are uploaded.

Soooooo Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt

Admittedly, I've never been a huge yogurt person. I like it - don't get me wrong - but because I don't obsess over "probiotics," I never pursued it as health food, and because I tend to opt for fruit smoothies for breakfast, I just never saw the need to add yogurt to my morning ritual. I've enjoyed many soy yogurts in the past, particularly peach and vanilla, and because of my husband's affinity for them, they often took up residence in our fridge and in his belly.

All that has changed - all thanks to Turtle Mountain. If that name isn't familiar to you, you most likely know them as "So Delicious" or "Purely Decadent," the most delicious line of non-dairy ice creams EVER (in my humble opinion). Formerly referring to their line of non-dairy goodies as "Soy Delicious," I see now why they've changed it. They have expanded beyond soy milk as the base for their ice creams and yogurts and have delved into the delicious world of coconut milk!

Their new line of coconut-milk-based yogurt is unbelievably delicious. I confess I've tried only the vanilla, because I fell in love at first taste, before it was even down the hatch - and I prefer to dress it up with my own fruit and nuts. But I do look forward to trying the other flavors as well, which include blueberry, chocolate (yikes!), passionate mango, plain, pina colada, raspberry, strawberry, and strawberry banana.

The yogurt is thick, creamy, delicious (did I mention delicious) and full of all those good little bacteria people get so kooky about. Another great food from a great company. Check out their website and store locator to find a store near you that carries it, then run out and buy some. And if you get to the chocolate before I do, let me know what ya think! Enjoy!

Growing Pains (that aren't really painful, thank goodness!)

It's been too long since my last post, and I'm hoping that will change. Compassionate Cooks is growing in every direction, and I want the blog to remain one of elements of what we do. I desperately needed to keep the new cookbook on the front burner, and I'm relieved and thrilled to announce that it's all complete and is slated for a June 2009 release. It can be The Vegan Table: 200 Unforgettable Recipes for Entertaining Every Guest at Every Occasion. It is broken up by the number of people you're hosting, offers menus of all the recipes, tons of helpful tips for entertaining, and contains beautiful food and party photos!

We just launched our new Membership Program, which gives perks, discounts, recipes, and rewards to people who join our club. It's a great opportunity to be part of the CC community and get some goodies at the same time. You can join at the membership page on our website.

I have out-of-town talks lined up for almost each month, which - though very fulfilling - is also a bit taxing. I love meeting podcast listeners and members in person, but it can be tough to keep up on everything else I'm working on. Upcoming talks in Michigan, Los Angeles, Ohio...

The podcast continues to stay front and center of what I do. Not only are we celebrating the 3rd anniversary of the podcast, we also just celebrated the 100th episode. Very exciting stuff.

Other than that, I may be writing a third cookbook, I'm working on some other non-cookbook books, writing articles, essays, and newsletters. I'm also working on a TV show, but shhhhhhhhh...it's a secret.

So, having said all that, please forgive me if the blog is silent for days (weeks?) at a time. I'd like to submit more regular posts in the future. In the meantime...

May our daily choices be a reflection of our deepest values.

For the animals,
Colleen
Compassionate Cooks

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.

A Veg Escapade on the California Coast

My hubby and I spent our 13-year anniversary at The Stanford Inn by the Sea, an incredibly beautiful place in a breathtaking location, on a pristinely kept property overlooking the Pacific Ocean and tucked into the woods. What more could you ask for?

Well, plenty more, it seems, because not only is the hotel vegetarian-owned, but the award-winning restaurant, The Ravens, is worthy of its many accolades. It is vegetarian and vegan, leaning more toward the latter.

The breakfasts do include eggs and dairy products, along with a bevy of vegan dishes, and the delectable dinners are ALL VEGAN. The menu is extensive, and the dishes are creative but familiar.

For dinner the first night, we enjoyed an appetizer of Japanese sushi, a salad of fennel and mixed greens, and two delicious entrees: one a ravioli in a wonderful cream sauce and the other was a vegetable-filled phyllo wrap. Though there were more decadent items on the menu, for dessert, we each enjoyed a frozen treat: David had the special cashew-based nutmeg ice cream in a delicious anise-flavored tuile, and I had the selection of sorbets. (I got the ice cream the second night, because it was so delicious!)

For dinner the second night, the prie fixe Mushroom dinner special was the route we took, and it was just incredible. Each course was more flavorful than the last, and we had the pleasure of thanking the chef in person.

Breakfasts consisted of pancakes, waffles, scrambles, muffins, and roasted potatoes, and everything was divine, including the views and the service.

I can't recommend this place enough. If it didn't rain virtually every moment we were there, we would have hiked and canoed, but as it were, we settled for shopping in town (which was quite adventuresome of us, considering the wind, which caused the rain to hit us horizontally) as well as an hour-long massage. Just walking the grounds is enjoyable enough, and the gift shop is packed with veg- and animal-friendly items and books.

But that's not all, you can bring your pooch, too! Though kitties abound for those of us who crave kitty love (and one sweet girl, Callie slept in our room one night), the place is kept so clean, you'd never know this was a retreat for human AND non-human animals. The rooms are just so lovely, including wood-burning fireplaces that just increase the romantic feel of The Stanford Inn.

A delightful way to spend a special weekend. Book your reservation today! :) And tell them Compassionate Cooks sent you!

Celebrating The Joy of Vegan Baking

This past Sunday, over 110 people gathered to celebrate the publication of my book, The Joy of Vegan Baking: Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets. Because of the generosity and baking prowess of many of my friends, we featured about 25 different desserts from the book - though I, in my distraction, forgot to unmask my own Chocolate Cheesecake and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie! Nonetheless, everything was beautiful and delicious and absolutely devoured by everyone. At the end of the night, we had a small bowl of strawberries left (and my two pies that remained in the fridge!).

I gave a short presentation, after being introduced by my wonderful husband, and the whole night was just a love fest. I felt (and still feel) very loved and supported, and the feedback I've been receiving about the book has been wonderful. It's so much fun to hear from people who are baking from the book and loving the results. Please don't hesitate to put your own thoughts and suggestions here!

Feel free to peruse the photos from the party.

Quoted in Article on Vegan Baking for the Associated Press

A really positive article about vegan baking came over the wires yesterday (10/130/07), and I - among other vegan bakers - am quoted in it:

"People associate baking with eggs, butter and cow's milk, but it's more accurate to say baked goods need fat, moisture and leavening," says Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, author of "The Joy of Vegan Baking."

"And those are available in plant form," she says.

In this part of the story, they included the following quote:

Ground flax seeds: Used in place of eggs, these help bind whole-grain muffins, cookies and pancakes. Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, author of "The Joy of Vegan Baking," suggests buying whole flax seeds and grinding them as needed in a coffee mill.

and my Lemon Cheesecake is featured (not the prettiest photo, but it's all good). :) Fun to see the book getting some press! Enjoy.