Late last year I spotted a journalism prophecy that “brownies would be the new cupcakes” in 2010. If so, then Hannah Kaminsky, author of the popular dessert cookbook My Sweet Vegan, is ready. She has perfected a dozen egg-free and dairy-free recipes for her new E-Cookbook, Blondies + Brownies.

Kaminsky states, “… there’s a certain finesse required to walk that fine line between fudgy and cakey, creating that elusive perfect texture ... Once that balance was achieved, new flavor combinations and reinvented classics were flying from my kitchen just as fast as I could dream them up.“

Blondies + Brownies is the fifth edition in Hannah’s Sweet Vegan E-Cookbook collection (other titles detailed below), and true to her signature, each creative recipe includes detailed instructions and a beautiful full color photo. Be prepared for your next potluck, birthday party, or sugar craving with the following wonderful recipes:

Sweet Sundays: The 2010 Global Vegan Waffle Party is sneaking up on us (the official date is Saturday, May 29, but participant parties are welcome throughout May and June), so we thought it time to offer up some more great waffle recipes.

The one below was emailed in by Dave, the founder of The Global Vegan Waffle Party. This recipe creates a "yeasted" waffle that actually leans slightly to the savory side when left on its own. But once topped with fresh fruit, maple syrup, or Dave's Warm Peanut Ginger Agave Sauce, these waffles become a brunch delight. I like this waffle recipe, because it incorporates a good dose of whole grain flour and gives you the opportunity to use blackstrap molasses, which is much more mineral rich (including calcium) than your average molasses or sweetener. And, according to Dave, there "was not a single crumb of vegan waffle left!" For a very basic Whole Wheat Vegan Waffle, see the recipe I posted last week on One Frugal Foodie.

To learn more about The Global Vegan Waffle Party, see my prior post, visit the event website, and check out the current list of parties taking place around the globe. You are welcome to throw your own waffle party (big or intimate), and many of the scheduled parties are open to newcomers.

Onto the recipe ...

The federal government commissioned a report that found poorly done studies in food allergy research and tests with misleading results for food allergy diagnosis. The team reviewed over 12,000 articles on food allergies, but only 72 met their criteria for sufficient data and rigorous testing. Their report is part of a large project organized by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, aimed at bringing order to the chaos of food allergy testing. Hmm, no small feat.

Dr. Marc Riedl, an author of this report and an allergist and immunologist at UCLA, states that about half of the patients coming to his clinic with a food allergy diagnosis did not really have one. A survey showed that about 30 percent of the population believes they have food allergies, but Dr. Riedl states that only about 8 percent of children and less than 5 percent of adults do. He agrees that people can be allergic to foods with reactions ranging from a mild rash to life threatening responses, but his team believes that the true incidence is exaggerated ...

Frugal Foodie Friday: I love cooking from scratch. My kitchen is filled with foods that either don't require a food label, or have three or less ingredients. But, there are a few dairy and vegan substitutes that I have a weakness for, and I often combine them to create a simple salad dressing (or dip) for both my husband and I to enjoy. In fact, the only completely "pure" ingredients in this recipe are the pinch of salt and pepper. Hence the name, Cheater's Creamy Curry Salad Dressing.

But have no fear, this is still a pretty wholesome recipe. I use curry powder (a pre-blend of spices; always handy to have around), milk alternative (a good neutral one like unsweetened rice milk or coconut beverage), dairy-free / soy-free margarine (from Earth Balance), and a surprise favorite (at least to us) Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that both my husband and I would actually prefer a vegan mayo to the "real thing." Of course, mayonnaise is simply an emulsion of egg and oil (often with some additives thrown in for beautification and shelf-life), so most who only avoid dairy could use regular mayonnaise in the recipe. But for us, this version of Vegenaise is actually the mayo of choice. Note that this particular mayo is not completely soy-free (I have yet to find a commercial brand of vegan mayonnaise alternative that is), but compared to the others, it is very "soy low." View the full recipe on my personal recipe blog, One Frugal Foodie.