Happy Mandarin Orange Day!

Blogger of the Day: Anya at Golubka
Pubs: The Vibrant Table

Round it up! Legend says you should eat round foods at the midnight strike of the New Year as a sign of renewal and rebirth, and to bring on good luck and prosperity. I like Mandarins because they're naturally in season, they burst with nutritional goodness and they are just so squealingly scrumptious and colorfully cheerful! Plus you get to choose..."Mandarin Orange" actually refers to a citrus family that includes Mandarins, Clementines, Tangerines and Satsumas. They range from sour to sweet so you'll just have to try them all to find your favorite!  ;)

A trip to Golubka (which means "dove" in Russian) is the perfect way to wrap up yumful year! Anya and her photo pro daughter Masha create crazygorgeous and spinningly delicious dishes full of pure fresh flavors in dazzling combinations. The most dreamingly luscious stuff...Anya makes it easy to become a vegan! :)

Orange-Cinnamon Crepes and Citrus Salad

with Earl Grey Orange Creme

Kohlrabi Avocado Salad with Sunny Citrus Dressing

Blood Orange and Fennel Salad

Ginger Marinated Tofu with Citrus Salsa

Lemongrass Mung Beans over Spaghetti Squash

Avocado Truffles with Mango Lime Surprise

Grapefruit Carrot Sorbet and Gingersnap Cookies

Chocolate Layer Cakes with Black Cherry and Orange

Kaffir Lime Mango Ice-Cream with Lime Reduction

Parsnip Cake with Candied Kumquats

Clementine Fudge Cake

Need a New Year resolution? Visit Veganuary! A UK based campaign encouraging people across the globe to go vegan for the month of January. They provide all you need...info, tips, resources and boatloads of recipes. Give it a go and challenge your family and friends to do it too!  :)

What's your favorite round fruit? Do you have a lucky food? How are you rolling in the New Year?  :)

That fills up a year of food holidays...thanks for reading along! I've got some personal projects beckoning me and my mom needs extra care now so I won't be posting daily, but I'll still be around. I wish you all good health and prosperity and boatloads of love and laughter! Happy New Year!  :)

Check out the rest of our 2014 Daily Food Holiday and Featured Blogger Series!

Happy Rice Ball Day!

Blogger of the Day: Susanna at Divine Healthy Food

Rice balls are yumfully delicious no matter where you are in the world! In Italy they are traditionally made with arborio or carnaroli rice, stuffed with meat and deepfried. Mexican, South American and Caribbean versions may be filled with spicy pepper and cheese mixes. Asian countries favor glutinous rice or rice flour balls hiding a sweet or savory paste, sometimes whimsically colored and flavored. Often they will be tied to holidays like today's Dongzhi Festival, when Tang Yuan are shared to celebrate the Winter Solstice. Tang Yuan are so hard to resist...one minute your bowl is overflowing, then *poof!* they've disappeared! Don't worry...once you learn the basics, you can whip more up anytime, but get to know your rice before you start rolling!  :)
• Glutinous rice is a very sticky, short-grain rice that is often used in Asian dishes.
• Glutinous rice is also known as sticky rice, sushi rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, mochi rice or pearl rice.
• One cup dried rice yields two cups cooked rice.
• Despite its name, this rice isn't sweet and it doesn't contain gluten.
• White or black varieties work best...brown short-grain rice isn't as sticky.
(Source)

Susanna has a crazyfabulous blog...you will get lost here for hours in all her munchable marvelousness! She's creative and funny and supersweet too, plus she rolls some rockin' balls!  :)

Tang Yuan (Glutinous Rice Balls)

Fried Sticky Rice Balls with Toasted Sesame and Scallions

Sesame Rice Balls with Caramelised Onions and Tempeh

Spinach Mushrooms Sticky Balls

Meaty Mushroom and TVP Meatballs

Beet Balls and Oyster Mushroom Gravy

Lentil Meatballs with Portabella Mushroom and Walnuts

Green Pasta with Arrabiata Sauce and Meatless Meatballs

Palitaw Snow Balls

Pistachio Fig Energy Balls

Chocolate Black Sesame Power Truffles

Crunchy Hazelnut Chocolate Truffles with Hempseed Crust

Chocolate Black Bean Rice Pudding Balls

Stick to the sticky stuff...
White Sticky Rice from Temple of Thai
Black (Purple) Sticky Rice from Temple of Thai
Organic Jade Pearl Rice from Lotus Foods
Black Pearl Rice from Lundberg
Organic Sushi Rice from Lundberg
Sweet Brown Rice from Bob's Red Mill
Sweet White Rice from Bob's Red Mill
Sweet White Rice Flour from Bob's Red Mill
Sticky Rice Flour from Temple of Thai
White Arborio Rice from Lundberg
Organic Carnaroli Rice from Lotus Foods

How do you roll your sticky rice? Have you tried Tang Yuan? What's your favorite filling?  :)

Check out the rest of our 2014 Daily Food Holiday and Featured Blogger Series!

Happy Pumpkin Seed Day and Carve a Pumpkin Day and Happy Halloween!

Blogger of the Day: Angela at Oh She Glows
Pubs: The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Vegan Recipes to Glow From the Inside Out

Hell's Bells, it's Halloween...yippee! You can spin the day in three different ways...celebrate the wonders of pumpkin seeds, the art of pumpkin carving or the joy of sugarslamming til your head pops off! Angela's got all three covered with a tantalizing treatbag of glowing goodies and devilish delights!  :)

Angela is like a lovable best friend and a dependable mom and a favorite teacher all rolled into one...supersweet and soooo helpful! Each post is a microchapter of her life, a colorful peek at what's baking, brewing and bouncing about (congratulations Angela!). She's been a guiding light for me and a vast multitude of vegloving munchers for years, providing easy-to-follow, fully photographed recipes, and all sorts of encouragement and heartfelt advice. Her website features over 500 recipes and her new cookbook is a tempting cross section of the best of them. If you need a simple sandwich or a full on holiday meal, or you just want to hang out with a rompingfriendly blogging bunch, swing over to Oh She Glows!

But first...kick off your wild Halloween weekend with these wickeddelicious treats!  ;)

Easy, Crunchy, Perfectly Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Soft & Chewy Baked Granola Bars

Favourite Homemade Granola

Creamy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie for Two

Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding

Spiced Up & Stacked Pumpkin Butter Pancakes For One

Pumpkin Butter Swirl Butternut Pecan Bread

Pumpkin Pie, Three Ways

Homemade Crispy Twix Bars

Homemade “Kit Kat” Bars

Homemade “Rolo” Knock-Offs

The enchanted edibles don't stop there...zoom to Angela's recipe collection for zillions more! A few of my favorites...
Blueberry Vanilla Bean Pancakes with Blueberry Glaze
Carrot Cake Oatmeal
Roasted Tomato, Onion, and Basil Pesto Pizza with Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Perfect Veggie Burgers
Nut Butter Crusted Parsnip Fries
Chocolate Chunk Toffee Bars
Turtle Oatmeal Cookies with Pecans, Chocolate, and Medjool Dates

If you could only have one of the above as a treat, which would it be?

Happy 6th Blogiversary to Oh She Glows...wishing you many more!

Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhain/Beltane everyone!  :)

Celebrate some more with our 2014 Daily Food Holiday and Featured Blogger Series!

Happy National Guacamole Day!

Blogger of the Day: Ava at Guac and Roll

Professional writer, lover of cats and rabbits and frequent vegan traveler, Ava has created a worldful of richly delicious recipes! In honor of National Guacamole Day and Independence Day in Mexico, lets's Guac and Roll!  ;)

Smashed Guacamole

Black Bean Quesadillas with Chilli Potatoes and Salsa

Salsa Black Bean Soup

Super Warming Pumpkin Chili with Polenta Topping

Summer Lovin' Spicy Bean Burger

Refried Chipotle Beans and Herby Spinach Mushrooms

Refried Bean Tacos with Homemade Pickled-Pink Onions

Courgette, Pea, Sweetcorn and Potato Tortillas

Homemade Baked Beans and Smashed Avocado with Lemon, Chilli and Mint

Autumn Corn with Lime, Chili and Coriander

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Dulce de Leche Sauce

or make easy Ain't Nothing Going On Brownies

spiced up with your favorite Chili Chocolate!  :)

How do you rock your guacamole?  :)

Celebrate some more with our 2014 Daily Food Holiday and Featured Blogger Series!

Happy Farmers' Market Month and Happy Labor Day!

Blogger of the Day: Ali at Farmers Market Vegan

Celebrate Labor Day by praising the hard work of farmers around the world and creating an allday menu of farmfresh feasting! If you have access to a farmers' market today, go buy a basketful of goodies and thank those earthy souls who worked so hard to bring them to you. If it's not a market day, then buy from your locally-sourced co-op or roadside stand or CSA. Support your local farms and enjoy the fruits (and veggies!) of their labor!  :)

We're celebrating with flaxseed bread bought at our local farmers market and big bowls of Ali's luscious lima bean soup! Ali is a passionate activist who believes deeply in equal rights for all, regardless of species, class, gender, race or any other dividing principle. Her blog provokes you into thinking in new ways about many social subjects and heightens your awareness of simmering issues that shade everyday relationships. It's definitely worth the read...plus she whirls up so many wonderful recipes that are healthy for you and for the soul of the planet!  :)

Very Green Lima Bean Soup

Cashew Cheese-Stuffed Fried Squash Blossoms

Savory & Spicy Grilled Veggies

Ranch Potato Salad

Herby Balsamic Tofu with Cherry Tomatoes and Shallots

Curried Almond Butter Farro Casserole

Ques-no-dillas and Lime-Bathed Black Bean, Corn & Tomato Salad

Salted Caramel Date (or Fig) Loaf

Blackberry-Lavender Cream Chocolate Cups

Peach Pumpkin Muffins with Hemp and Chia Seeds

Saffron Cantaloupe Butter

Do you shop at a local farmers' market or subscribe to a CSA? What was your best market find this summer? How are you celebrating Labor Day? Who is the hardest working person you know?  :)

Celebrate some more with our 2014 Daily Food Holiday and Featured Blogger Series!