Wednesday, March 26, 2008

QUICK UPDATE ON VEGAN BROTH BEFORE I HEAD FOR SEATTLE VEGFEST

Best Blog Tips I'd love to see you at Seattle VegFest this weekend! It is a great event, very inexpensive, with loads of free workshops and speakers! It takes place at 10am - 6pm at the Seattle Center's Exhibition Hall.

I will be demonstrating easy Italian recipes on Saturday, March 29th at 10:40 AM, and Desserts on Sunday, March 30th at 12:15 PM, in the Blue Room. Directly after my demos (11:30am – 12:00pm on Saturday, and 1:10pm – 1:40pm on Sunday), I will be signing books at the VegFest Bookstore, which is a good time to chat with me. Hope to meet you there!

MORE INFO ABOUT THE EVENT HERE.

I'll be back home on Monday!

Before I head off to pack, though, I'd like to quickly mention some new VEGAN "Better Than Bouillon" broth bases, or pastes, from Superior Touch. At least, they were new to me! I bought the "No Beef Vegan base" and the "No Chicken Vegan base" at my local natural foods market, Edible Island, in Courtenay, BC. (Unfortunately, their "Mushroom Base" contains dairy products!) They have a "Vegetable base", too, and it comes in an organic variety.





I did the "taste test"-- made a cup of each kind (it only takes a teaspoon of the base in a cup of boiling water) and DH and I each drank half of each kind. Delicious! I especially like the "No Chicken"--rich and satisfying (and lower in sodium than most). I will definitely be using this whenever a powdered broth is not necessary!

Enjoy the weekend, wherever you are!

8 comments:

Chelsea said...

I, too, think this is the best broth out there, but I stopped using it because of all the chemicals they have in it. Is the organic variety any better? (I have to make a special trip to a different store to pick some up so don't follow its incarnations.)

Bryanna Clark Grogan said...

Actually, Chelsea, I don't see any chemicals. The "No-chicken" one contains: vegetables (carrots, onion, celery), salt, hydrolyzed soy protein, maltodextrin; sugar, canola oil, natural flavors, autolyzed yeast extract, corn syrup solids, turmeric [a spice].

Maltodextrin is produced from any starch and is used as an emulsifier. The starch is cooked, and then acid and/or enzymes are used to break the starch into smaller polymers (a process similar to that used by the body to digest carbohydrate).

Hydrolyzed soy protein: The soy protein is broken down into amino acids in a chemical process called hydrolysis.

Autolyzed yeast or autolyzed yeast extract consists of concentrations of yeast cells that are allowed to die and break up, so that the yeasts' digestive enzymes break their proteins down into simpler compounds.

Yeast autolysates are used in yeast extracts such as Marmite.

It is NOT the case that these ingredients are the same things as MSG. Please read about this at length on my website here;

http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/2264686.htm#78336

Bryanna Clark Grogan said...

PS: Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction or process in which a chemical compound is broken down by reaction with water.

Chelsea said...

Thanks so much for the detailed reply -- I'll have to check it out again!

Anonymous said...

That is fantastic news! I'll be looking for those while shopping tonight!

Wheeler's Frozen Dessert said...

Hi again!
Just wanted to pass on this information ...

Boston Magazine recently published an article all about us this month - here is the link:

Oh Soy Tasty!

If you have a few minutes to spare, could do us a huge favor and read the article and comment at the bottom of the page? We're very excited about getting such great press, especially from a magazine of this caliber. If everyone drops by and leaves a quick comment, soon there will be no doubt in any publisher's mind: YES, readers absolutely do want to know about vegan happenings and developments. Please don't hesitate to repost the article on your blog and spread the world!

Thanks!
Emily @ Wheeler's Frozen Desserts

michelle (meiji) said...

Hello Bryanna! We just met yesterday @ VegFest. It was so wonderful getting to meet you and watch you in action when you did your cooking demo. The food smelled fantastic! Thanks for signing my cookbook. I wish I could go today to have you sign my "Nonna's Italian Kitchen" cookbook too, but today I'm going to stay home and enjoy my new cookbook purchases from VegFest. I blogged about you & VegFest if you want to check it out: http://flippinvegan.blogspot.com/

Take care, and thanks again! - michelle (spelled the 2-L way).

Vegan_Noodle said...

Really enjoyed your cooking demo at vegfest bryanna!! We even got to taste both of your italian dishes afterwards and loved them. I took some photos during the demonstration, let me know if are interested in digital copies... walkingtheveganline@gmail.com