Introducing Ms. Abbien: The Gluten-free Vegan wonder!

Do you remember your freshman year roommate? Better yet, are you still friends with her/him? I'm lucky enough to have had the best roommate ever, whom I lived with for the rest of college, and we have not only remained friends, but still get to hang out from time to time. 

Abbie and I clicked over our love of Punk/Indie rock and an obscene pride in our Irish heritage. We bonded over eyebrow piercings and keeping a vegetarian diet on a freshman meal plan. We've changed a lot over the years, but some things, like our respective sweet tooths, have stayed the same. When I suggested that she come over and bake some oatmeal cream pies with me, I didn't have to ask twice. Bakin' cookies with Abbie is where it's at! Little Debbie, fear our skills. But I'll let Abbie tell you all about it...

I've known Colleen for many years, and I've known her to do many wonderful things. Working on perfecting a vegan oatmeal cream pie has undoubtedly been one of them.

Sometimes you just needs to taste your childhood. You know, something to distract you from all of those icky grown-up responsibilities that now consume your life. Well, I'm pretty sure my childhood is nestled somewhere between two oatmeal raisin cookies, right alongside baking with friends and family. So, heading into the kitchen with Colleen made perfect sense. It was a chance to channel inner girlhood, listen to some indie rock, eat (I mean test) cookie batter, and make gluten-free vegan oatmeal cream pies.

Wait! Gluten-free! Yeah, you heard me. It was time to bust out the alternative flours. Gluten-free baking can be tricky, and finding the right flour blend can take some experimenting. If you're looking for gluten-free flours or baking products, I totally recommend Bob's Red Mill. Not only does this brand have a huge selection of alternative flours, but Bob looks like he has a sweet beard. Who can deny the trustworthiness of an awesome beard? Is it just me? Well, in addition to Whole Foods and some traditional grocery stores, Asian grocery stores also carry many gluten-free flours (rice and millet flours, etc.).

As the world of gluten-free flours is vast, we used a blend from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. This book oozes wonderful information and ideas for vegan and gluten-free goodies.

We incorporated the blend into the recipe that Colleen uses for her vegan oatmeal cream pies and the smell of nugmeg and cinnamon added to my excited anticipation. Seriously, anything that produces that kind of cinnamon aroma in the kitchen has got to be good.

I often find that the challenge with gluten-free vegan baking isn't in the taste of the batter, but the right ingredients and the baking itself. I dare you not to be tempted to lick the computer screen. Look at that batter! That's full of gluten-free vegan deliciousness.

There were some adjustments with the actual baking of the cookies in order to find the right consistancy and shape. But that's part of the fun! Sitting around the kitchen, modestly nibbling the the edge of a cookie, hand on your chin, looking upwards in concentration trying to imagine all of the flavors, letting out the frequent "hmmm...". That's where it's at.

The cookies were pretty darn tasty and just needed the cream filling to make Little Debbie totally jealous. And for a brief moment, I forgot all about those pesky adult things I needed to get done, and enjoyed my first oatmeal cream pie, in like, forever. Well, I suppose there were many brief moments since then, seeing as they're all gone.

A guest post, how exciting! I hope you guys are ready for some more. My friendship with Abbie has seen many years and many bottles of whiskey, and now we're taking things to the next level. Abbie's agreed to become a regular contributor to the blog! Let me tell you why this will make Sweet Swallows even more awesome than it already is:

• Abbie not only bakes tasty sweets, but rocks the savory snacks too.
• Gluten-free and vegan means more allergies are covered, and more people are happy.
• Her camera skills are far superior to mine
• She's got a wicked green thumb and a bangin' garden to show for it.
• She's Rad. Obviously. End of Story.

So welcome, Abbie, and I look forward to more posts from you! And thanks for not giving away too many of my oatmeal creme pie secrets... But seriously guys, if you haven't already gotten a copy of Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, I don't know what's wrong with you. It's got a ton of amazing recipes to keep all the vegans in your life happy, and to fool all of your non-vegan friends into liking vegan sweets. Win win. And all of the recipes can be made Gluten free. Which puts us up to win win win. Winners all around. 

Better Butter

It's been busy and a little distracting around Casa de Sweet Swallows this month. Some of it awesome, some of it less than awesome. I need to tell you about one of the more awesome things. I made a new friend, and I'm going to dork out and tell you all about it. 

I've got some really great readers at this blog. Sometimes I get e-mails from those readers. A few months ago I got an e-mail from Marina, another Philadelphian, who owns a peanut butter company. She said she liked picnics, and that we should get coffee. I said I love peanut butter, and I think you should be my new best friend. True Story. 

Marina owns Better Butter. It's peanut butter mixed with fruit and natural sweeteners to make it even more delicious, but with half the calories of other brands. It's all natural, no preservatives, and some of the tastiest stuff around. There's no dairy, soy or gluten in any of the products, and two of the flavors are vegan.

Better Butter has two standard flavors, Honey Nut Banana and Nutty Chocolate Chip. They're both pretty tasty. But there's also a seasonal flavor: Maple Pumpkin Peanut Butter. Yeah, you heard that right. Maple. Pumpkin. Peanut. Butter. It's like autumn in a jar. And tastes like pumpkin pie filling. NOM NOM NOM. 

I'm the kind of person who's known to eat pie for breakfast. Shamelessly. If you'd like to eat pie for breakfast, but feel guilty about it, just pick up the Maple Pumpkin spread and put it on some toast or graham crackers. Problem solved. 

I can't keep this stuff in the house. It disappears by the spoonful. Into my mouth. And Marina can barely keep up with orders. So I've been helping her occasionally to make those big vats of Better Butter.

So how did I spend my day yesterday? Filling jar after jar of all 3 kinds of Better Butter. And it took all my will power not to swan dive face first into the giant vat of it. I was really proud of myself. I held back. I might not be strong enough next time. Just warning you, Marina. 

You can find Better Butter all throughout Philadelphia. It's available in some local grocers like Almanac and Green Aisle Grocer, and Marina also sells at a few farmer's markets around the city. For a full list of locations, check out their website. And now it's even available for your morning bagel at Grindcore House in South Philly, and Bodhi coffee in Headhouse Square. 

Seriously though, you'll want a whole jar for yourself. TRUST ME.

We Have a Winner

Hey y'all! Thanks to everyone who entered the Fanciful Fox giveaway. Our winner is comment #13, Rachel! I used a random number generator to select a winner, but unfortunately Blogger is being dumb and won't let me upload any pictures. Including the screenshot. So you'll just have to trust me.

Rachel will be receiving a bar of the Dead Sea soap, and her choice of Orange Coconut soap. Congratulations Rachel! Please e-mail me your mailing address at sweetswallowsbaking at gmail dot com, and we'll get your soap right to you!

Also, I haven't mentioned it yet, but I was not one of the lucky contestants to move forward in Project Food Blog. Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by the site and voted for me, both readers and other featured publishers. I was pretty bummed I didn't advance, but I'm so glad I took part in the competition. I've found so many new blogs that I love, and feel like I've gained some new readers and made new friends in the food blogger community. I'll still be following along with the contest and voting myself, and I'm sure eventually you'll hear about who I'm supporting in the competition.

With two dinner parties this past weekend and Ken on vacation this week, I've been taking a little break from blogging. But I'll be back soon with some reviews, recipes, and other nonsense.

And speaking of nonsense and nonsequiters, Happy Choochtober/Doctober/Red October, Phillies fans! Here's to a long month...

Giveaway: Vegan Soap from the Fanciful Fox!

Remember a few weeks ago when I celebrated my Blogoversary, and I said I'd be having a giveaway? Well I'm finally getting around to it. SO SUE ME. I've been a little distracted with this. (By the way, there's still time to vote...)

I talk about Scranton a lot around here. It's my hometown, and I love visiting whenever I can. And whenever I visit, I go straight to Adams Ave for all my needs: Eden for tasty vegan food, a cold beer at the Bog, and The Fanciful Fox for the best beauty supplies.

The owners, Kathie and Amanda Fox, are some of my favorite people. They are equal parts adorable, talented, and kind-hearted. What started as a rainy day craft activity has turned into a thriving business that is not only sustainable and eco-consious, but full of luxurious gifts for you and your home.

More about the store from their website:

The Fanciful Fox is a vegan, fair trade store located in beautiful Scranton, Pennsylvania.  The mother-daughter team of Kathie and Amanda Fox work daily to make all sorts of plant- based bath and body products for all skin types.  They are completely dedicated to the planet and all the living creatures on it.

They do not test on animals and research every ingredient in their products to make sure they don’t buy anything that has been tested on animals.  Amanda was  2009 recipient of PETA’s Compassionate Business Award.

Additionally, they do not use petroleum by-products, parabens, or other harmful chemicals.  They use organic and wildrafted ingredients whenever possible.

All products are handmade in small batches, and made with love.

If you stop by their boutique, in addition to great bath and body products you will find an eclectic collection of fair trade products.  They have a great variety of handmade items from all over the world that are made from recycled objects or come from sustainable sources.

The Foxes happen to love my baked goods. I happen to love their soap. It's a beautiful friendship, really. So let's talk about some soap I've tried.

The Dead Sea Soap is amazing. It looks a little funky. And there's mud in there. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little skeptical. But it smells lemony and wonderful, so I brought it home for Ken and figured I'd give it a try. As someone who does not use bar soaps, I must say this soap could convert me. It's amazing! It mildly exfoliates and softens my skin like a dream. It lathers well, but doesn't leave that soapy-squeaky feeling that makes me despise bar soaps. Ken loves it, I love it, it's a crowd favorite!

I also got a chance to try the Breakfast bar, and love it for its mild exfoliating qualities. The top half of the bar has oatmeal, and the bottom half has coffee. The soap has a very mild fragrance, and does not actually smell like oatmeal or coffee. This is probably for the best if you're extra sleepy like me in the mornings, so that you don't confuse your soap with your breakfast. Still, a great exfoliating bar soap!

The Sweet Vegan Bakery soap looks adorable and smells like your Grandma's kitchen, if your Grandma likes to make almond cookies like mine does. It lathers well, but has more of that traditional bar soap feel that I'm not a big fan of. I prefer to use it for shaving my legs, or as a hand soap. Also, because of how sweet it is, this soap is not for everyone. Since I regularly smell like a cookie, I didn't mind it, but if you're not a fan of sweet smelling body products, this soap is probably not for you. Luckily, the Fanciful Fox has many other fragrances for you to try, and they're always coming up with new creations.

And now lucky readers, one of you will get to try these goods for yourself! Because those Foxes are so awesome, they're donating two bars of soap for a super awesome giveaway. The prize will include one bar of the Dead Sea Soap, and one bar of your choice. To enter, just go to their site, check out the stuff, and comment letting me know which fragrance you'd like in your prize pack! It's that simple. Check out their other soaps here.

For an extra entry, you can "Like" both the Sweet Swallows Facebook page and the Fanciful Fox's Facebook page. After you do that, just remember to come back here and leave a second comment so I'll know that you did. I'm not a mind reader, people!

The contest will be open to anyone in the United States (sorry, friends abroad!), and you'll have till Midnight EST on Wednesday, October 6th to get your entries in. I'll announce the winner on Thursday, October 7th. Make sure you don't post anonymously, or I won't have any way to contact you! Good luck!

Voting is open for Challenge 2 of Project Food Blog

Voting is now open for Round 2 of Foodbuzz's Project Food Blog. You can find my entry here. I'd appreciate it ever so much if you'd vote for me again! The process is the same as last time, so if you voted last week you're all set up to vote again. If you haven't voted yet, you will need to sign up for Foodbuzz in order to vote, but I promise it's quick and painless. Here's the link for voting. Thanks again!

For all of you awesome Featured Publishers that are stopping by, please make sure you leave a comment so that I can return the favor! Also, I like meeting new foodies. Let's be friends.

Voting ends on Thursday, September 30 at 6pm, so don't wait! And make sure you check back in a day or two for a super double secret, super double awesome giveaway...

How NOT to Make Thai Tofu Green Curry

I'm not a chef. I've never claimed to be. I'm a baker. Some people can bridge the gap and do both well. I'm not one of those people. I leave most the cooking to my boyfriend Ken who is quite the snack master. And because most of the time I venture to make dinner it ends in tummy aches and ruined pots.

Here's the thing: I don't like to babysit my food. I don't mind doing extensive prep work as long as I get to pop it in the oven, set the timer, and forget about it for awhile. It's why I love baking. Most recipes have built-in coffee breaks. If I've got to be standing over a stove tending and nurturing a dish, I'm going to end up walking away and ruining it. I don't have the time or patience to coddle you, Risotto. But what's that you say, Lasagne? After I assemble you, I can leave you to do your own thing in the oven? Well then, I think we can be friends.

So when asked to make a dish outside of my comfort zone for the next challenge in Project Food Blog, I knew it had to be a stovetop dish. As soon as I'm pre-heating that oven, I automatically feel like things are a little more right in the universe. You want to make me uncomfortable? Hand me a wok and some vegetables. I'll be cranky and whining in no time. And that's exactly what I did to myself last week.

For challenge two I decided to tackle a classic Thai dish, and one of my favorites: Green Curry. It fit the profile perfectly: a classic ethnic stovetop dish that required some babysitting to develop flavors and cook vegetables. [Insert ominous music here.]

I also love any excuse to hit up the asian supermarket. It's documented here. So I made my shopping list, grabbed $20, and headed to Oregon Market. It's go time.

If you don't have any asian markets near you, I'm really sorry. They're a great source of cheap produce, tofu, exotic sauces, and entertainment. If you're vegan/vegetarian, I recommend staying as far away as possible from the meat case. But if you've been thinking about going vegan/vegetarian, go to your nearest asian market and walk immediately to the meat case. You'll quit cold turkey (pun intended).

The irony of this particular asian market is that even though I know every ingredient I need for my recipe is in there, that doesn't mean I'll get everything I need. This is for two reasons: 1. Good luck finding someone who both understands AND speaks english and 2. although the packaged goods almost always have an English translation, only about 1/3 of the produce is clearly labeled in any language. And getting adventurous in the asian market's produce section is a level of risky behavior that I'm just not comfortable with.

Because I couldn't find the kaffir lime leaves or the galangal the recipe called for, I settled for the pre-made green curry paste (which still took me an hour to find). And I got all this stuff for $15. Vegetarian fish sauce, green curry paste, fried tofu, coconut milk and a slew of produce. Not too shabby.

I wanted to make the curry close to the version I get from my local Thai take-out. While researching Green Curry recipes, I found that though the curry sauce remained mostly constant, the vegetables and meats seemed to vary by author. I decided to follow the recipe for the curry, and guess at the rest of the ingredients in the take-out version. This was probably mistake #1. [Ominous music cue 2]

The curry came together really well. It was very fragrant, and had a great mellow heat but deep flavor. But once I started adding the vegetables, everything went downhill. Perhaps I didn't allow the vegetables to saute long enough. Perhaps I should have let the tofu heat in the sauce longer. Perhaps I added too many vegetables. Perhaps I should have measured the vegetables before tossing them in. Perhaps I should stop thinking I can wing it with things I'm not familiar with and follow a freakin' recipe already. Who knows? There were a lot of variables.

All I know is that it looked and smelled lovely, but it tasted TERRIBLE. I took a few bites, and threw the rest of mine away. Ken, who can usually choke down the worst of what I serve him, ate about half of his, slyly dumped the rest, and made sure to let me know he wouldn't mind if I got rid of the leftovers. Add it to the long list of dinner FAILS that have come out of my kitchen. We both agreed, I should really stick to desserts.

I've heard that eggplant can be a really fickle mistress. I think I'll blame it on the eggplant, and continue to work on my vegetable sauteing skills. Do any of you have an awesome green curry recipe? Or have some tips on working with veggies, tofu and curry sauces in a wok? I'M ALL EARS. For now, I'll share the recipe I used, and hope you've got better skills than me.

Thai Tofu Green Curry
(adapted from Squidoo)

1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp soft dark brown sugar
2 lemongrass stalks
14fl oz of coconut milk
6-8 Kaffir lime leaves (if you can find them; I used lime zest instead)
Thai fish sauce (several brands make a vegetarian version, if you can't find it, you can use soy sauce)
cilantro
1/2 lime zested, and juiced
2 Tbsp green curry paste
1 eggplant, sliced
1 cup green beans
Tofu (I used packaged fried tofu, but you can use regular extra firm tofu, drained and cubed)
Thai basil and sprouts for garnish

Peel away the outer leaves of the lemongrass, cut into pieces and crush each piece with the flat end of a knife to release the fragrance. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the green curry paste and sugar and heat over very high heat for about a minute, stir with lemongrass. Reduce heat slightly and add the lime zest (or leaves, if using). Add the coconut milk and fish sauce and reduce heat, simmering and allowing the curry to thicken slightly. Add the tofu, and allow to heat and absorb flavors for several minutes. Add vegetables, and allow to cook about 5-7 minutes, or until reached desired tenderness (You don't really want to listen to me on this part anyway, this is where I messed up!). Check seasonings, and add more fish sauce, thai basil and cilantro to taste. Use sprouts as garnish, if desired. Serve over jasmine rice.

Holy Crap, Thanks!

I advanced to Round 2 of Project Food Blog. I'm so excited, and so overwhelmed by all of the comments and emails I've received from some other amazing bloggers in the contest. You guys are great! Thanks so much for all of your votes!

Real talk? This is dorky but true: I'm also way too excited about all the new foodie friends I've made. I told my mom about it and everything.

The contest is so far from over. There's still 9 challenges, and each week the pool of contestants gets smaller and smaller. I'll be posting my next entry later this weekend, and voting takes place next week. No time to rest on laurels!

And now, as a token of my appreciation, here's some food porn of some Heirloom Brandywine tomatoes I got last week and the vegan ham and turkey sandwich I made with them. Please enjoy.