Vegan Puppy Chow, To Celebrate The New Year

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Hannah

Riddle me this: is there any better way to celebrate the dawning of a new year than with chocolate and peanut butter?

No. The answer is no. Chocolate and peanut butter should always be used to mark the beginning of a new year, because chocolate and peanut butter together create such irrefutable and reliable deliciousness that to eat a treat based on their wondrousness is to ensure that your year is founded on happiness.

Look, yes. I know there are other aspects of life capable of helping 2013 start off with a bang. You could play frisbee in the park with friends, for example, or write a list of all the different ways you intend to be awesome in the next twelve months.

Personally, I wouldn’t mind if my 2013 began with the discovery that talking red pandas exist, because then I would track down such a talking red panda and convince him to be my best friend. I would call him Lord Snuggleruffle, he would call me Sparkleheart, and together we would live a life of such adventure that movies would be made about us and I’d end up with so much money from royalties that I could spend my life perpetually chasing summer, back and forth, back and forth, across the world.

I also wouldn’t mind starting 2013 by writing a post listing all the grammatical/spelling/just-plain-wrong errors I keep seeing in blogs. They’re driving me insane. Won’t somebody please employ me as The Internet’s Proofreader? Please? If I see one more person write “peaked my interest” instead of “piqued my interest”, “bare with me” instead of “bear with me”, or “here enlies the problem” instead of “herein lies the problem” (enlies isn’t even a word oh dear holy), I’m going to lie down in the snow until my eyelashes freeze together.

See? Starting the year with chocolate and peanut butter is far preferable to starting the year with a[n I-really-want-to-be-an-editor] rant about language errors.

Therefore I give you Puppy Chow. A strangely-named (here veganised) heavenly treat of Chex cereal coated in melted chocolate, peanut butter, and butter/vegan non-dairy spread, all tossed with icing sugar.

It’s incredible. It’s insanely sweet. It’s like crack. It’s American (of course). It’s chocolate and peanut butter and crispiness and sweetness. It’s irresistible. It’s Puppy Chow.

Oh, and the sculpture above? It’s made of neither chocolate nor peanut butter, but it is perhaps the most hilarious and terrifying piece of street art I’ve yet come across in Toronto, and thus it is great. (It is Koilos by Michael Christian.)

Happy New Year! Here’s to a 2013 filled with joy, sweetness, and the correct use of apostrophes.

Heel click,
Hannah

Vegan Puppy Chow

Makes 9 cups. Recipe from all over the Internet.

1 cup vegan dark chocolate (I used a 70% dark chocolate)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup vegan non-dairy spread, such as Earth Balance or Nuttelex
1 tsp vanilla extract
9 cups Chex (rice cereal squares)
2 cups icing sugar

Combine chocolate, peanut butter, and Earth Balance/non-dairy spread in a large saucepan over medium heat and stir until all melted together. Add in the vanilla, and stir to combine.
Place the Chex cereal in a large bowl, then pour over the chocolate and peanut butter mixture. Gently stir until all the cereal squares are coated.
Put the icing sugar in one enormous container/zip-lock bag or several smaller containers, and tip the coated cereal squares inside. Seal the containers/bags and shake shake shake! Shake shake shake! Shake your booty! … until the sugar has coated all the cereal.
Place the cereal in the fridge until the chocolate hardens, and then enjoy. Preferably with your new talking red panda friend by your side. Because why not? Exactly. Happy New Year!

The Kansas City Renaissance Festival, starring Giant Pickles, Things On Sticks, and The Royal Smoker

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Hannah

One of the ways that Amber convinced me to extend my stay with her last month was by promising me a trip to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival, an annual six-week-long extravagance of corsets, themed sideshow games, mead, people on stilts, and something called The Royal Smoker.

I stayed, we went, and it was a riot of a day. To blog every entertaining moment would be to create a post Tolstoyian in length and potentially not safe for work (there were some awe-inspiring reaching-for-the-skies corseted bosoms present, I’ll tell you that for free), so I’ll try to keep this of both manageable length and PG-rating.

Speaking of PG, I would like the outfit on the right, please, so that I can twirl around in public singing “Little town, it’s a quiet village / Ev’ry day, like the one before…”

The first sight I encountered upon entering the Renaissance Festival was a man draped in multiple snakes. Being Australian, I am of course used to fending off poisonous slitherers with my bare hands, but the little girl being yanked away from the snakes by her mother was clearly lacking such valuable life skills.

There were a wealth of ye olde food options available at the Renaissance Festival, but giant turkey legs do not fill my soul with glee. Giant pickles, however, are another story.

Keeping the aforementioned PG~~-censorship~~-rating in mind, I shall simply state that pickles are hilarious, and vehemently deny the existence of any other pickle photos. End scene.

Well, except for pickle photos that also incorporate THE TARDIS.

After all, if a time-period anomaly is going to show up at a Renaissance Festival, it’s going to be the TARDIS. Because then it’s not really an anomaly at all, is it? Exactly.

Say hi to Amber! Hi Amber! The blueberry beer in her cup was surprisingly delicious, despite the fact that I initially found it too sweet for my tastes. (My favourite drink that day was a combination of alcoholic cider and Oktoberfest beer, though. I’m one classy broad.)

Say hi to Matt! Hi Matt! Looks like you’ve got some tasty nuts there, Matt. End scene.

So, fried pickles? Didn’t float my boat. When warm, pickles become unpleasantly squelchy-like, which makes me think of Roald Dahl’s snozzcumbers. I say to you: shudder.

I also say to you: olives stuffed with pickled garlic on a stick are serious business.

Less serious are slices of chocolate-covered cheesecake on a stick (thanks for being the hand model, Hillary). This was far better than I expected from pre-packaged festival fare. We were particularly amused by the hidden graham cracker crust.

With sweet and salty cravings happily sated, it was time for Amber, Matt, Hillary, and I to make our way to The Royal Smoker for an hour of bawdy songs and jokes, belly dancing, wine, snacks, and cigars.

I merely contemplated the cigar in a PG manner, of course. If I’d done anything but contemplate, I might’ve hallucinated wacky sights like, say, a Mermaid Matt.

Wait. Never mind.

End scene.

The Road Trip of My Dreams, Part Two: Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum

Posted on September 30, 2012 by Hannah

Two weeks ago, I went on the road trip of my dreams with Amber. If you’d asked me, before that day, whether a sunny drive (fuelled by hemp milk coffee and soulsister conversation) with the sole aim of a magnificent chocolate factory tour would be enough for me, I would’ve said yes. Yes, absolutely, that is enough to make me happy.

But I was luckier than that. My road trip wasn’t about mere happiness; it was about dream-achieving exhilaration.

First, though, it was about more coffee. Who knew gas station coffee could be quite acceptable? Fancy that.

After Amber and I toured the Askinosie Factory in Springfield, we hopped back in the car with our sights firmly set on Mansfield. In this town, we would find the homes where one of my most cherished authors, Laura Ingalls Wilder, lived out the majority of her life (and wrote her books).

As we drew into Mansfield, signs and shops emblazoned with Laura’s name started to appear, and I began to embody a strange (and probably perturbing, to Amber) combination of breathless silence and random shrieks.

I grew up reading and rereading every Laura Ingalls Wilder novel/memoir, and my love for her stories has carried through my blog. It seems I’ve mentioned Laura here and here and here and here and here and here…

So when I say that visiting her home was emotionally overwhelming? I mean it.

And I can prove it.

So. Many. Feelings.

Then we found Laura’s house. FEELINGS. We got to walk around inside this home that she and Almanzo built themselves, room by room, despite the fact that Laura was only 4ft 9in and Almanzo had a cane and a crippled leg. I saw the dishes that Laura cooked with, the stove she cooked on, the beds where they slept, the desk at which she wrote her books, the embroidery they both worked on, the staircase their daughter Rose climbed to go to bed, the wallpaper they chose, the flooring that has lasted all these years, the overflowing library, and so much more.

So. Many. Feelings.

I needed a bit of a lie down. Dizzy.

Amber, bless ‘er heart, noticed that I was getting quite teary during the house tour, and didn’t even chastise me when I spent all of our time in the museum exclaiming things like “Oh! This is the invitation for the party Laura went to in Little Town on the Prairie where she experienced an electric shock and got a whole orange! a whole orange!” or “Pa’s fiddle! Oh Amber, it’s really Pa’s actual fiddle!”.

As a certain someone was making fun of me for recently, it turns out I really can be as ridiculously sensitive as a dewdrop on a soufflé sometimes.

A little drive from Laura and Almanzo’s main house is the Rock House, in which they also briefly lived. Before visiting this gorgeous place, Amber and I stopped by the gift store for something that has been missing from my life and soul for a long time.

Yes. That’s right.

I now own my very own prairie pioneer bonnet.

If I had my way, I’d never take it off. After all, it gives me Prairie Sass.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and so Amber and I waved farewell to Laura and began the drive home to Kansas City (Missouri!), this time energized by our myriad sample bags of delicious, delicious Askinosie chocolate and Amber’s spectacular taste in music. (If you think you see whole pieces of vanilla pod embedded in that dark chocolate, you’re right. Review to come.)

Thank you, Amber, for helping create this shining day.

So. Many. Feelings.

The Road Trip Of My Dreams, Part One: Askinosie Chocolate Factory

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Hannah

Sometimes, just sometimes, dreams really do come true.

Sometimes, just sometimes, promises made between friends three years ago, promises uttered more with hope than complete conviction, promises that weren’t certain to ever become more than emailed whispers… sometimes such promises turn into shining reality.

Last week, in keeping with a dream of mine and long-ago-made promises of ours, Amber and I undertook a twelve-hour road trip (eight hours of which were spent driving, mind you) to visit the Askinosie Chocolate Factory and Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Mansfield home.

It was a magical day.

Having set off bright and early with travel mugs of stevia-sweetened hemp milk coffee by our sides, the drive to Springfield whooshed by in what felt like moments. (True friendship is living in each other’s pockets for two weeks straight yet still being able to talk non-stop for three hours [random outbursts about devil ghost river trees aside].)

When I first saw the Askinosie factory appear in my line of vision, five years after I first discovered its chocolate-y wonders as a student at UVA, I might have whooped a little.

Amber and I were greeted by Askinosie’s gorgeous and enthusiastic Mallory Roth as soon as we walked inside. I’ve tweeted with Mallory sporadically over the years and, when I’d earlier contacted her to mention my interest in popping by, she generously offered to give Amber and me a private guided tour (and tasting!) of Askinosie. Win!

Mallory showed and talked us through the entire chocolate-making process at Askinosie, detailing the company’s dedication to working directly with farmers by traveling to meet them and buy beans at their farms; ensuring the farmers share 10% of the net profits; importing, inspecting, roasting, and winnowing the beans; making the chocolate liquor as well as their own cocoa butter (Askinosie was the first chocolate maker in America to do the latter); supporting children and teens in the local community through the Chocolate University; and creating incredible, incredible chocolate.

I can think of no better or more knowledgeable ambassador for Askinosie than Mallory, who passionately conveyed the company’s spirit of enthusiasm and ethics (though I feel I should ask forgiveness for my constantly geeking out and interrupting Mallory with my own thoughts on Askinosie and chocolate in general).

Oh, that above, right there? That’s me in all my geeky chocolate joy, about to embark on the tasting part of the tour.

We got to taste all the things. ALL THE THINGS. It was heaven. Heaven I say! (And never you fear, I’ll be providing many chocolate reviews in future. Between what I bought and Askinosie’s generous bequeathal of samples, there is now much chocolate in my life.)

Did I mention that Askinosie makes its own undeoderised (i.e. it tastes like real chocolate) white chocolate with goat’s milk powder?

Or that Amber and I both wanted to dive into the enormous mixer of undulating melted white chocolate? Oh, dreams…

Not only did we get to try every single bar in Askinosie’s line-up, Mallory also opened a jar of chocolate hazelnut spread for us. It knocked Nutella out of the park with its intense hazelnut and rich chocolate flavour.

Hi Mallory! You are amazing! Thank you for your amazingness! And for Askinosie’s amazingness! Exclamation mark!

This is a photo of Amber (because she is very pretty) in front of the kilo tubs of dark chocolate that I desperately wanted to buy.

And this is the current line-up of Askinosie chocolate. I longed to buy everything but, after remembering that I am currently sans steady income, restricted myself to four different blocks.

With our hearts full of joy and our souls (and hands) brimming with chocolate, Amber and I smiled for the camera once more before skipping back to the car, jazzed up and ready for Part Two of The Road Trip Of Dreams.

To be continued…

Kansas City Perfection: Vegan Doughnuts, Raw Almond Butter Noodles, and Sisterhood

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Hannah

When I was growing up, I sometimes found myself wishing for a twin sister. This is not to say that I didn’t love and worship my older brother, because I did and still do (he’s amazing, don’tchaknow). But occasionally I thought it might be nice to have a girl-type sibling with whom I could whisper at night; a twin who would, out-of-the-blue, say precisely what I was thinking and vice-versa; another soul in whose presence I would feel whole and at home.

It turns out that I’ve always had that twin (soul)sister. It’s simply that we were accidentally born in different countries, on different days, to different families.

Image courtesy of Amber

I love my Ambersister. And I’m absolutely loving my time here with her and her new husband, Matt, in Kansas City, Missouri. Larks and shenanigans! Larks and deliciousness and shenanigans!

I touched down in Kansas City (Missouri!) two weeks ago, and Amber immediately whisked me off to Mud Pie Bakery, a vegan coffeehouse and bakery of such wonder and magic that I would swoon to have its like in Canberra. Instead, I simply swooned over Mud Pie’s hemp milk and almond milk lattes.

Sufficiently caffeinated, Amber then took me to her home where she showered me with flavoured nut butter packets and hot sauce, all according to a pact we made long, long ago. I swooned over both the treats and her generosity.

I should probably mention that I also swooned over the rooftop view at Amber and Matt’s place. This swooning was partly because the day was warm and sunny, partly because Kansas City (Missouri!) looks different again from every other American city I’ve yet visited, and partly because I was finally standing with my deardear friend three years after we first connected through words, emails, dreams.

But no view can make me swoon as much as a little bowl of vanilla bean coconut milk ice cream topped with Amber’s incredible peanut butter sauce and bee pollen.

Or two bowls in a row of Amber’s Almond Butter Sesame Noodles, the recipe for which can be found in her fantastic cookbook, Practically Raw. Which you should buy. Because it is great. And Amber is great. All is great.

Oh, what’s that you say? Amber had earlier prepared raw vegan Sour Cream and Onion Kale Chips for me, also from her cookbook?

And then we spent the next day exploring, shopping, and visiting a Friday night farmers market, Bad Seed? Where we ate fresh apple slices, mocha and peanut butter granola, raw chocolate, and both maple bourbon and coffee glazed almond vegan doughnuts by local baker EmmaBee’s Doughnuts (with the latter flavour being generously given to me for free)?

Yes, all of that happened. It was grand.

The only thing I can think of that would have made my first two days in Kansas City (Missouri!) even more spectacular is if I’d found a giant $18,500 painting of a peanut butter jar to pose with at a local art gallery.

Oh, wait. Never mind.

Turns out my first few days in Kansas City (Missouri!) were perfect after all.

Wayfaring Chocolate

adventures in chocolate, travel, cooking, and living

Category Archives: Exhibitions

Vegan Puppy Chow, To Celebrate The New Year

Vegan Puppy Chow

The Kansas City Renaissance Festival, starring Giant Pickles, Things On Sticks, and The Royal Smoker

The Road Trip of My Dreams, Part Two: Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum

The Road Trip Of My Dreams, Part One: Askinosie Chocolate Factory

Kansas City Perfection: Vegan Doughnuts, Raw Almond Butter Noodles, and Sisterhood