Chef Mayra Productions is bringing you the flavor of the Caribbean to Studio West at The Arts Factory, 107 E. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas on August 21, 2009.  The Caribbean themed evening will feature a four-course vegan dinner and dessert, live music and steel drums, a vintage clothing display and a cash bar featuring vegan libations. Sounds like fun! Tickets are available for $75.00 per person at various locations including The Arts Factory, Rainbow's End, The Spirit Within U, Sunrise Coffee and on Chef Mayra's website, http://www.chefmayra.com.  Chef Mayra is known for distinctive flavors and is also referred to as "Dr. Flavor".  She is also a member of Women Chefs and Restaurants and the Personal Chef Association. But we like her because she is a compassionate chef!  She had this to say of the event: "This will be a fun, vegan, Caribbean full-of-energy party," said Chef Mayra. "My food will [...]

In my humble opinion, you can never go wrong with a cookbook from Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  From Veganomicon (and those chickpea cutlets!) to Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (no explanation needed here!), you always get a ton of great recipes that are pretty simple to make.  Her latest book, Vegan Brunch, offers up some of her best "work" yet. So far, I've made the Banana Rabanada, Whole Berry Sauce, Garden Herb Spread and the Cashew Ricotta.  I gotta tell you, I'm in love with the Cashew Ricotta.  I've never cared for real ricotta, it always tasted spoiled to me.  But Isa's version is heavenly.  It's soft with the same texture of real ricotta without any of the nasty animal ingredients.  And what makes it even cooler (as if that is possible), is that it's made with mostly tofu instead of raw nuts.  Most of the faux ricotta recipes I've [...]