well, leda’s vegan cupcakes are kinda no more…is what i meant to say. leda’s bake shop, famous for their irresistible vegan cupcakes, has officially closed its storefront as of october 19, 2008. the modest bakery located in sherman oaks bills the shutdown as “great news” and details their “exciting new plans” on their website. according to leda’s, the bake shop can’t “divulge the specifics,” but is “undergoing some exciting changes and developing an innovative new concept to meet the growing needs of our large and loyal following.” hmmmm. i guess it’s just a coincidence that the economy is in the toilet, and this small eco-friendly bakery in the valley is closing their doors for undisclosed reasons. i don’t mean to sound cynical, don’t get me wrong, i hope leda’s is planning a huge comeback that will knock all our vegan socks off. for now though, it looks like they may be going through hard times.

upon hearing the sad news, i absolutely had to get in there on leda’s last day in business (saturday october 18) and buy as many cookies and cupcakes as me and poor, supportive omnivore parents could possibly eat.

all the flavors i could possibly eat! $1.50 each.

the vegan cupcakes were absolutely to die for. of the flavors i purchased were chocoate chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate espresso, velvet and coconut. i got the miniature cupcakes so we could try as many as possible, and every flavor was absolutely divine! i didn’t even get a chance to try them all, my parents and husband were all over these little decadent devils. of the ones i tried, the chocolate espresso, and my old favorite chocolate chocolate stood out.

chocolate espresso cupcake

chocolate chocolate cupcake

it’s a shame this place is gonna stop selling life-changing vegan cupcakes to passerbys like me. i’m half thinking of renewing my vows or throwing a meaningless party, so i can get leda’s to cater my event.

just because i had to, i also stocked up on some chocolate chip cookies before i left leda’s. this little bag was waaaaay too expensive at over five bucks, but i just had to indulge. i mean, what if they completely go out of business? i would spend the rest of my life in regret over these cookies, right? i wasn’t about to let that happen.

not quite as pretty, but just as delicious as the cupcakes, the cookies were gone in absolute record time. the chocolate chips were moist, and the dough was perfectly baked and greasy. i’m glad these were so small, it made me feel much better about the fact that i ate four of them.

ahhhh. leda’s bake shop has long been one of los angeles’ favorite vegan-friendly spots. everyone loves vegan cupcakes, and it’s so sad to see them scale back their service.

last day rush for leda's cupcakes and cookies

if you take one thing from this post….for crimony’s sake, cater your next party with leda’s. or, if you feel like squandering some cash or are super hungry, spurge for 24 cupcakes, which is leda’s new minimum order. it’s a small price to pay to keep this modest vegan staple in business. and you know i’m right.

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as a vegan, i am always looking for the perfect snack. it’s easy to find ubiquitous junk food items that don’t contain animal products (i’m talking to you, oreos!), but are full of scary ingredients that are hazardous to my health. for so long, i have been looking for an indulgence item that makes me feel like i am living it up, but not eating something that is gonna kill me. enter nutty steph’s. nutty steph’s is a vermont-based company making healthy, organic granola that tastes so decadent, it can compete with any household junk food.

nutty steph's vermont granola, nutty steph's trail mix, and cookies made with nutty steph's ingredients

steph started selling her granola in 2003, when she was only 23 years old, and had no knowledge of commercial food production. what she lacked in age, however, she made up for in creativity and over the past five years her granola has gained tons of respect from buyers and chefs alike. and even more importantly, i love it! her granola is so packed with flavor, i almost don’t want to sprinkle it on top of anything. i’ve never tasted a “healthy” snack that is so perfect straight out of the bag. sweet, slightly salty, and above all, nutty, this granola is beyond delish.

nutty steph's vermont granola: organic oats, pure vermont maple syrup, sunflower oil, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, vanilla extract and sea salt.

and, nutty steph’s granola can be used in various recipes. steph even has a whole category dedicated on on her website to the various uses for the granola. since i am a vegan, i decided to put the granola to the ultimate test and use it a recipe from veganomicon, the ultimate vegan cookbook. i made a recipe i already knew to be delicious, the chocolate-chocolate chip-walnut cookies, and substituted nutty steph’s granola for the actual nuts. i also used nutty steph’s magic chunks for 1/3 of the chocolate chips called for in the recipe. i can tell you, these cookies have never tasted so delicious. the delicate blend of sweet sugary oats and pure nut flavoring added more to the cookies than i could have imagined. these were so much better than the cookies with walnuts.

veganomicon's chocolate-chocolate chip-walnut cookies using nutty steph's vermont granola and magic chunks

the crunchy granola and magic chunks were the perfect compliment to the soft dough and chocolate chips. unlike when baking the cookie with actual walnuts, the oats mixed in throughout the dough making for a much more substantial and satisfying cookie. plus, there were plenty of nuts in the granola, so i still got the intended nutty taste. the granola was absolutely great to bake with, and i am sure it would make a fine substitute in many of my favorite dessert and snack recipes.

lastly, nutty steph also offers her own brand of trail mix which is out of this world. the minute you try this, it will be hard not to eat the whole bag in one sitting, because it is so damn addictive. the already irresistible granola gets thrown in with fresh batch of raisins, huge and whole crunchy nuts, and large chunks of dark chocolate to make something i can’t resist.

nutty steph's granola trail mix: vermont granola, peanuts, raisins and chocolate chips

this is by far my favorite product of nutty steph’s. i’m sure it would be great sprinkled onto some soy ice cream, or mixed in with some cereal, but i just enjoyed the entire bag plain, on its own. the chocolate discs really bring out the nutty-ness in crispy granola, and the raisins provide a softness to all the crunch. steph really has found the perfect way to combine natural ingredients and make them taste ridiculously good.

this trail mix is so freakin' delicious

nutty steph’s is a vegan junk food/health food dream come true. an unashamedly delicious snack containing ingredients that i can pronounce. all real food, no chemicals or fake shit is contained in nutty steph’s. let’s support this cool chick from vermont who makes the perfect vegan snack, and stick it to the big corporations!

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update! since the time of this post, these amazing chocolate twinkies are available for order from no whey vegan bakery. i highly suggest you get a batch! now, read on…

i absolutely love chocolate. it’s the best. if i see a chocolate dessert, it takes every bit of will power i have not to devour it. i’m pretty glad to be a vegan, meaning i can’t eat most of the tempting chocolate treats that i encounter in day to day life. because if i could, i’d be a hell of a lot fatter.

i also love vegan twinkies. so imagine how excited i was to learn last week that la’s most famous vegan twinkie baker, jenn shaggy had whipped up a special batch of her legendary treats in double chocolate flavor. yep, chocolate cake and chocolate frosting…my dream come true. i booked it to the vegan spot to pick up some of the goods as soon as i could, and while i do love everything on the vegan spot’s menu, this time i was just coming for twinkies. they were even better than i could have imagined.

double chocolate vegan twinkies

i was lucky enough to be handed a box of 5 beautiful chocolate vegan twinkies by the gifted baker herself and i couldn’t help but ask how the hell she does it. she wouldn’t let me in on the secret twinkie recipe, but she did tell me that she loves experimenting with flavors making different style twinkies for all occasions. a wizard in the kitchen at only 23 years old, i’m really hoping jenn shaggy opens up her own restaurant some day. from twinkies to dorritos, she has figured out a way to make anything vegan. i highly recommend checking out her blog, where she shares a few of her recipes.

back to the twinkies. they were off the hook. they didn’t taste anything like limp, packaged twinkies from when i was a kid…instead they tasted like the most decadent chocolate cake filled up with creamy sinful frosting. they were so delicious that my husband refused to believe they were vegan, i mean they were just too incredibly rich.

chocolate frosting holes

the frosting was even better than the stuff in jenn’s normal vegan twinkies, which are delicious as well. but what can i say, i am obsessed with chocolate. i highly recommend that if you are lucky enough to get your hands on one of these, you have a full glass of soy milk at your side. the cake is just so moist and flavorful, each bite goes down well with a cold sip of vanilla milk.

they don’t photograph quite as well as normal twinkies, especially when cut in half because it’s brown frosting against brown cake. but trust me, what they lack in looks they more than make up for in taste! i munched down three in one sitting and then had to stop myself. a very fortunate co-worker was given a bite of my twinkie (i only had 5, it’s not like i could spare a whole one) and i didn’t tell her it was vegan until she had already raved about how awesome it was. a testament to the twinkie.

so, go to the vegan spot and get some twinkies! now! they are awesome. and be sure to try whatever flavors you can. the standard ones are delicious, but not nearly as savory as these chocolate babies. and keep track of jenn as well, who knows where her desserts will show up, and you gotta be there to try them.

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i know, i know, i know. i go to pure luck like every freakin’ day, and it’s taken me this long to finally walk across the street and try scoops…a legendary ice cream and gelato shop known for its rotating vegan selection and strange array of flavors. when i visited, the vegan flavors weren’t that weird at all, so i settled on a whopping scoop consisting of half mint-oreo and half chocolate-peanut butter. oh man oh man oh man. this ice cream lived up to the hype. i’m kinda bummed i tried it, because now i know i won’t be able to resist it ever again, even after downing a whole plate of potato pals from pure luck.

1 massive scoop of mint-oreo and chocolate-peanut butter vegan ice cream. around $2

how they make this so creamy and so vegan, i have no idea. all i know is that this the best ice cream i’ve ever had. and i am someone who loves vegan ice cream. i’ve been known to go to london and stand outside of harrods in the blowing wind and pouring rain eating a frozen bowl of whatever vegan ice cream they have on deck, because i wouldn’t want to leave for home without trying it. luckily for me, though, harrods is 5,000 miles away. scoops is only like 4. that’s why i have been resisting it. ’cause i’m afraid now that i’m hooked. i mean, just look at this stuff. my sweet tooth doesn’t stand a chance.

the staff at scoops are super friendly, and will let you sample anything you want. for us vegans, that means we can try out 4 different flavors before deciding on which one to have. oh, and it’s CASH ONLY. so make sure you have enough. you can get more ice cream than you could ever eat for five bucks.

scoops storefront

scoops' modest interior

oh and while you are hanging out around hel-mel, don’t forget to stop by pure luck and get some food and beer. with scoops right across the street, i don’t think i will visit one without hitting up the other ever again.

vegan heaven

so definitely get over to scoops as soon as you can. the portions are huge, the prices are low and the ice cream is delicious. mind you, i only got ONE scoop and what they gave me was huge and contained two flavors. we need more places like scoops, for sure.

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last week i turned 24, and while to me getting older is a kinda depressing thought, i took it as an excuse to completely gorge myself on vegan cake.

chocolate & peanut butter cake from real food daily! (i dunno how much it cost 'cause it was a gift)

i haven’t had a birthday cake since i was 18…back in the day when i was still a vegetarian. i used to love the gooey dribbling frosting and moist chocolate sponginess—all stuff i’ve half-way written off since becoming a vegan. luckily for me, i have the most awesome co-workers who went out of their way to surprise me with a delicious vegan cake from real food daily and 3 bottles of specialty beer. what a gesture!

the cake was out of this world. everyone in the office was going at it, and nobody had a problem with the fact it was vegan. in fact, the cake was GONE, no leftovers, in like 30 minutes. usually we order cake from sweet lady jane’s, and when we do, a few slices always get thrown out. not with the real food daily cake, uh uh. people were coming over from different departments, wishing me a happy birthday just so they could sleaze away with a slice of me cake! it was great watching omnivores enjoying the vegan dessert. and trust me, i got plenty of it to myself—two big slices that sent me into a food coma and rendered me useless for the rest of the day. mmm. chocolate-peanut-buttery goodness.

yummmmmmmmy cake.

i know we at quarrygirl have had some unkind things to say about real food daily in the past (sometimes they blow), but none of those feelings spill over into my review of their cake. i don’t really know how expensive this was because it was a surprise, and i don’t know how the service was because i didn’t pick it up…but i DO know that my bday cake tasted incredible and looked beautiful. people were questioning, “how do they make it so soft and moist?”, “are you sure this doesn’t have eggs in it?”, “omg how do they make this taste just like real cake?” and then it was all gone. and everyone was full.

i highly recommend real food daily for a stellar, tasty birthday cake. i may even have to give them another shot and eat there again.

and a big shout out to the peeps who bought me this cake. if you ever read this, you rule!

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