Chocolate and Beyond

Win A Copy of 'Vegan Food Gifts' by Joni Marie Newman!

This Christmas just gone, I had been in receipt of the wonderful new book 'Vegan Food Gifts' by the even more wonderful Joni Marie Newman, who is author of the famous veggie burger bible, The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet. This meant that many of my loved ones got given hand-made jars of all things nice and vegan from me this year, thanks to some of the ideas in the book.

I was very excited about the arrival of Vegan Food Gifts. It was full of intriguing and creative ways to make unique gifts that are so much better than anything you can buy in the shops. I was most interested in making up jars from the 'Just Add Water' section - I did the Fudgy Brownie Mix, the Spicy Taco Mix, and a couple of others. My recipients seemed to be very pleased with their gifts!

Giveaway: Win One of 8 Subscriptions to Vegetarian Times Magazine, Courtesy of Zinio!

I have just been given the chance to review a digital copy of Vegetarian Times (US version), with my subscription provided courtesy of Zinio USA, a digital magazine subscription service. And even better, Zinio have offered me 8 subscriptions of Vegetarian Times to giveaway to lucky readers of Chocolate and Beyond!

I currently have the December issue of Vegetarian Times, and it is packed with - as far as I can tell - mostly vegan recipes. This is good news :) Especially, I like the fact that I notice some well-known vegan names on the editorial and staff of the magazine, including Ann Gentry as executive chef - the person who came up with the wonderful cashew cheese I always rave about, and who owns the Real Food Daily restaurant.

Book Review: Vegan Pie in the Sky by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

I've probably owned the desserts-to-die-for bible of Vegan Pie in the Sky  long enough now, and baked enough of its treasure chest of goodies, to be able to provide a decent review and tell you what I think.

I have a small collection of vegan cookery books by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, who seem to have cornered the vegan market with their many amazing recipes, and I bought this book after trying a couple of recipes from their website.

The first was the Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Crunch Topping. Utterly amazing. I actually made this for two American friends around Thanksgiving time last year. Both were heartily comforted by its taste of the USA in the pumpkin element (even though I have to admit, I actually substituted with butternut squash!), and were extremely impressed with what I'd managed to create.

Book Review: Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

"What happens to all of the male offspring of layers? If man hasn't designed them for meat, and nature clearly hasn't designed them to lay eggs, what function do they serve?

They serve no function. Which is why all male layers — half of all the layer chickens born in the United States, more than 250 million chicks a year — are destroyed.

Destroyed? That seems like a word worth knowing more about.

Most male layers are destroyed by being sucked through a series of pipes onto an electrified plate. Other layer chicks are destroyed in other ways, and it's impossible to call those animals more or less fortunate. Some are tossed into large plastic containers. The weak are trampled to the bottom, where they suffocate slowly. The strong suffocate slowly at the top. Others are sent fully conscious through macerators (picture a wood chipper filled with chicks)."

RAWR Easter eggs - quite possibly the best chocolate ever? Dairy-free too!

Oh my. If there was anything I needed to cheer me up from my spluttering sick-bed (I'm currently ill with a chest infection), it was the delivery of a box of four solid raw chocolate Easter eggs sent to me yesterday courtesy of RAWR. I can honestly say, I've never tasted anything quite like these eggs before - it is highly likely to be the best chocolate experience I've ever had.

This is the first time I've ever tried raw chocolate, and for the uninitiated, that means chocolate that is made from completely uncooked ingredients (preventing loss of nutrients, which unprocessed choc contains - there is info on RAWR's website). I have to say - WOW!

Firstly, they come delightfully packaged in a little blue recycled egg-box tied up in yellow ribbon, a treat for the eyes. Then the four eggs inside - each one a good solid 70g - are individually wrapped to signify their different flavours - 'Purity' (organic dark choc with crunchy cacao nibs), 'Zest' (organic orange choc), 'After Dinner' (organic mint choc) and '80% Intensity' (organic 80% cocoa choc).

The chocolate just kind of crumbles in your mouth - with the flavour slowly melting into your taste buds. I nibbled on a bit of every single egg at first, then decided to spend a while eating a half of 'Purity'. The chocolate was really like no other, and the flavours were intense without being overpowering. And you could actually properly taste the chocolate! It felt a million miles away from the taste of a commercial chocolate bar (in fact, eating the RAWR eggs felt positively healthy!).

Having tried all the eggs, my favourite was Zest (which I ate a full half of after my peanut butter on toast this morning). I've always been a fan of orange chocolate - though the idea of turning to a commercial brand ever again now has departed. Commerical chocolate is heated and packed with sugar, milk fat, and crap (let's be blunt), whereas this chocolate is organic, hand-made and naturally sweetened without refined sugar. It's gluten-free, and oh yes, dairy-free too. I've tried vegan chocolate before and have been disappointed, but the RAWR eggs were nothing like. Guilt-free, while delicious.

A box of four eggs costs £8.95. That's not a lot of money - and there IS a lot of chocolate in a box at 280g in total. I had to put the eggs away to keep mindful of not overeating! Plus, orders over £5 from the RAWR website have free delivery - so they really are a yummy bargain.

10% discount on RAWR orders for Chocolate and Beyond readers!

I just need to say that, after I tasted this chocolate, I specifically went to RAWR and asked if they would provide a discount for readers of my site. That's because I really was so impressed with it, I want everyone to have a taste themselves!

So, RAWR have kindly offered a very reasonable 10% discount off website orders. Just use the code BEYOND10 which you can add in My Cart on www.rawrchoc.com after making your order.

My suggestion is order a box for everyone you normally buy Easter eggs for, plus a box for yourself too - because if you order for others and not for you, you'll be annoyed when you find out how utterly delectable they are!