The Vegan Scoop: 150 Recipes for Dairy-Free Ice Cream That Tastes Better Than the “Real” Thing by Wheeler del Torro (2009)
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WHEELER DEL TORRO’S THE VEGAN SCOOP IS MY FAVORITE COOKBOOK OF ALL TIME. The end. Shortest book review ever.

I kid, I kid – but just about the last part. In all seriousness, The Vegan Scoop really is a personal favorite. I love everything about this cookbook: the gorgeous, glossy pages. The luscious, lovingly-photographed balls of frozen deliciousness. The easy-to-follow – yet terribly creative – recipes. The sometimes-sneakily subversive “tasty tidbits” that grace each page’s margins. The way del Torro encourages readers to experiment with different fruits, spices, seasonings and – yes! – even vegetables on their own. The freaking color palette. Simply put, The Vegan Scoop is all kinds of awesomeness.

Besides, who doesn’t *heart* ice cream, hmmmm?

The book, which – have I not already mentioned? – itself looks yummy enough to eat – features 150 recipes for vegan, dairy-free ice cream and ice-cream related foodstuffs. (Disclaimer: all of the ice cream recipes require an ice cream maker. I’ll be reviewing my own model tomorrow, so stay tuned!)

del Torro arranges his frozen concoctions into nine categories:

While many of del Torro’s ice cream flavors are incredibly imaginative (Seaweed! For reals?), all use the same base as a jumping-off point, namely: 1 cup of soymilk, 2 cups of soy creamer and 2 tablespoons of arrowroot powder, with 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar, depending on the dish. (This is the same foundation on which many of the recipes at A Vegan Ice Cream Paradise are built. Frugal vegan alert!) The cool thing about this, of course, is that uniformity leads to familiarity, which – in this case – breeds confidence and self-esteem. After a little time spent practicing with the recipes in The Vegan Scoop, even this amateur felt comfortable enough to experiment with her own fantasy flavors.

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The terribly charming exterior of The Owl House, a vegan-/vegetarian-friendly and sometimes-gluten-free eatery located in Rochester, New York.
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Happy World Vegan Day! Happy VeganMoFo! Happy happy joy joy. Now if only the Missouri weather would read the shiny happy vegan memo. (Seriously, sun, my faux-you lamp is busted and I’ve no idea how much of this yuckiness I can tolerate. Come out, come out, wherever you are…)

Ahem. Anyway. If the pre-veganmofo tweet/buzz is any indication, it seems that most every mofo’er has a theme this year. Being, shall we say, not culinarily inclined, my “theme” (if I must choose one) is reviews: books, mostly (I have almost a dozen titles in the queue, oy vey, and veganmofo seems the perfect excuse to knock a few of ‘em off the list), but also kitchen gadgets and restaurants!

And so, to kick off the fourth annual VeganMoFo, I present to you: my first-ever restaurant review! During the recent trip I took to my hometown of Rochester, New York, my family and I visited The Owl House, a new-ish eatery with plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. (Cue: vacation photos! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!) Let the mofo’ing begin!

The who: My family, including my sister, Michelle (a vegetarian/aspiring vegan; imho, “freegan” is the label that she wears best); my brother, Mike (a shameless omnivore/carnist); my father, Steve (a longtime vegetarian); my mother, Wendy (a guilty-but-stubborn omnivore); and my grandmother, Vita (an omnivore who’s not altogether ignorant re: all things vegetarian, since she raised my father and all) – and myself, of course.

The what: The Owl House, a vegan-/vegetarian-friendly, slightly upscale-in-a-yuppie-hipster-kind-of-way restaurant located in downtown Rochester. [website; Facebook page]

The when: mid-September 2010, on a Thursday night, just before the dinner rush.

The where: 75 Marshall Street, Rochester, NY 14607.

The Owl House’s too-cute menu, which is also available on its website.
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While my sister (who currently lives in Sacramento) and I were in Rochester, our mom was eager to try out all kinds of “vegan stuff” (here, loosely defined as “animal-friendly”) with us: meals, bakeries, restaurants – sanctuaries, even. Unfortunately, it proved tough to make plans, let alone keep them (so busy was she caring for some of our older relatives), but we were able to visit The Owl House. I guess it helps that Thursday night was Dinner with Grandma Vita Night, and since her schedule was rather tight as well, rescheduling was not an option. So anyhow, this was a family dinner in which the non-veg members were more than happy to accommodate their vegan and vegetarian counterparts.

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