Spinach Artichoke Dip

Preheat oven to 350.

Puree 1 pkg frozen spinach and one pack of artichoke hearts until smooth.

In a medium saucepan melt 1/4 Earth Balance or other vegan margarine. Whisk in 1/4 flour a little at a time to avoid it clumping up on you. Once this has thickened remove from heat and add puree. Add 2 cups of almond milk to the saucepan mixture. Sprinkle in 1/2 cup of nutrtional yeast, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 chopped tomato and two cloves of garlic diced. Transfer to ramekins or casserole dish. Top with vegan cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Serve hot with pita or tortilla chips!

Yummy!

Holiday Rice Pudding

Holiday Rice Pudding

What makes it festive and yummy is the taste and scent of cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg!

So here we go!
In a medium saucepan, combine 1.5 cups of almond milk (vanilla flavour is best), 3 cups of cooked basmati rice, 1/2 cup of sugar or 1/4 cup of agave nectar and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer uncovered until rice is creamy. You will need stir frequently so it does not burn. This will take about 15-20 minutes.
Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg and a sprinkle of shredded coconut. Continue to stir until the pudding has thickened.
Turn off the heat and stir in the following 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon pure coconut extract.
Now is a great time to spoon the pudding into your serving bowls and sprinkle with crushed pistachios (unsalted of course).
If you prefer to eat your rice pudding cold then cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Enjoy!



Vegan Handbags

 Susan Nichole has just become my favorite vegan hand bag designer!


            In fact in the past month I have acquired 2 purses, one briefcase and a wallet from her growing collection.

That's not to say I don't love my Matt& Nat bags, of course I do! There is just something about Susan Nichole's designs that I can't get enough of. Maybe it has to do with the designer being female and really knowing what we love in a bag as women, extra compartments and pockets for all our little things. Maybe it's the fun colours like "candy apple red" "eggplant" or "pumpkin" that keep me coming back. I do know the quality and style is worth every penny for these very beautiful fashion forward bags!
That's why I'm excited to tell you that The Garden of Vegan now carries the Susan Nichole line! Her vision for her designs is inline with what we believe in, vegan stylish options. As her website says:

"Susan Nichole was founded to provide women with beautiful, functional handbags designed to be elegant, stylish and fun-loving – much like the women who carry them. Consistent with our animal and earth friendly ideals, all Susan Nichole handbags are made from 100% recyclable, vegan materials and contain absolutely no animal products. Such a direction gives women the option to carry beautiful designer handbags that are trendy and fashionable, yet maintain their animal and earth friendly principals."

Check out these great bags at www.thegardenofvegan.ca today for great November specials.

Cavewoman Bars

It was a cold blustery day outside while inside I sipped tea and bit into my first Baklava Cavewoman bar. The smell of the spices and the pieces of pistachio from this bar made it feel like the holiday season. This bar is amazing! ...and it has so few ingredients! Dates, walnuts, pistachios, almonds and sweet spices!
This bar is 100 natural, gluten free, has no sugar added and vegan!
Win-win!
...Oh but I forgot to mention all the other yummy flavours!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake! Easily my favourite with real pieces of pineapple of course.
PB & J (Strawberries, blueberries and of course organic peanut butter - my kids love this one!)
Banana Nut Bread (the Lemon in this one makes it taste even better than you can imagine!)
Blueberry Pancake (this one even has cashews and maple flavour!)

These bars are chewy full of flavour and taste just like what they say.

keep them in your purse like I do because they are great on the way to the gym, for pregnant moms when the munchies hit and just when you want a quick filling great tasting snack!

I'm excited to say that The Garden of Vegan is the first and only place in Canada that you can get these amazing bars! So order yours today. The Garden of Vegan ships world-wide and is constantly updating their vegan treats.
www.TheGardenofVegan.ca