Introducing Hello Donuts, A Sweet Kensington Gem

Finally, after many months of waiting, I tried the latest donut company based in Philadelphia-- Hello Donuts. They seem to be the answer to the other side of town where the popular Dottie's Donuts is unreachable. With two vegan donut offerings every weekend and delivered to various places like Reanimator Coffee, the time was now to take a bite out of these beautifully photographed donuts.

At Franny Lou's Porch, my favorite spot to write and read lately, I ordered my favorite warm beverage-- the Alice Walker (matcha tea latte with soy milk and maple syrup drizzle)-- along with two enticing pineapple-ginger donuts. Yes, two. I had a terrible week. I deserved this.

These donuts (coconut based by the way) are incredibly sweet and delicious. The fruity pineapple flavor is authentic and perfectly balanced with the right amount of spicy kick ginger. The little pieces of pineapple on top are a nice, aesthetic touch to a yummy cake and the glistening icing drips pleasingly onto fingers and plate. I love also that it reminds me of the fancy fruit donuts by Artisa Dough in NYC.
Overall, a great sugar high and impressive start to the weekend. I cannot wait to try
Hello Donuts' other creative flavors.

Vegan Mofo 2018 Post 8: Mandazi

It's Africa's answer to beignets. 

Imma is still my go to spirit sister on these African recipes. Her mandazi is an easy way of creating a beloved treat in Somalia. This country of over 14 million has a rich prehistory that dates to at least Paleolithic, have a large agricultural workforce (sugar, bananas, corn, and sorghum are their largest exports), and work with Washington D.C. based CITES (the Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) that established a worldwide ban on elephant ivory trade. As for food, Somalians love spices, especially cumin, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and sage-- some of which makes mandazi so delicious.  The tourism is quite strong with many historical sites, waterfalls, castles, fortresses, megaliths, and other incredible architectural phenomenon.

The ruins of Gondershe Citadel looks unbelievably gorgeous.

When making mandazi, the dough cannot be too sticky or too dry, so the amount of flour varies. However, it is magical how the flat triangles immediately puff up in the hot oil. This is the same oil previously used from the koeksisters and worked out better than expected. I am no frying master yet, but experimenting has certainly opened a new kitchen door. I would love to make these again and amp up the spice profile just a notch. Overall, these unique at-home doughnuts could be a weekly thing.


Mandazi Ingredients and Preparation

3 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2-3 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flax meal + 3 tablespoon water)
3 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
oil for frying

Mix all dry ingredients together.
Stir in coconut milk, flax egg, and coconut or olive oil.
Roll out dough and cut into triangles.
Heat up a pot of oil and drop in a few at a time, turning them over so that they're brown on both sides.

Once they're all done, you can sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, or dip them in a simple syrup that's still in your fridge from your koeksisters.

Of course, I'm not planning on eating them all in one sitting.....

Vegan Mofo 2018 Post 4: Koeksisters

Almost like doughnuts but with an extraordinary twist.

Sweet and sticky wins the race on this next Vegan Mofo venture.
In South Africa, Afrikaners have created the koeksister-- a plaited fried dough specialty coated in a lemon and ginger simple syrup. The word "koek" is Dutch for wheat flour confectionery and is the English root for "cookie." Sister, however, doesn't mean sibling, it's more directed towards the cooking technique and the sizzling sound effects when the dough hits the hot oil.

The Koeksister Monument in Orania, Northern Cape (an Afrikaner city in South Africa near the Orange River) pays homage to a folk tradition bake sale that raised monies for building new schools and churches. Image by Jens Friis.

So I deep fried for the first time and enjoyed the process of making koeksisters-- a long, tedious practice with the plaiting the best part. With koeksisters, a recipe from Imma, I improvised quite a bit: using a glass cup to roll out my dough and letting a wooden spoon test out the oil temperature (if bubbles form around the spoon it's ready). I also poured the excess oil into an airtight jar. It was too much oil to discard and hopefully can be used in the next frying recipe coming up.
All in all, the koeksisters are different. The corn flour gives it the crunch factor and the sweet simple syrup infused with lemon, ginger, and cinnamon coats nicely.

Koeksisters Ingredients and Preparation

1 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon ginger
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water

1 cup corn flour
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup soy milk (or any dairy free alternative)
1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flaxmeal + 3 tablespoon water, let sit five minutes)
1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
oil for deep frying

First make the simple syrup. Mix together sugar, cream of tartar, ginger, lemon juice, cinnamon stick, and water. Put this in the refrigerator for chilling.

In a medium bowl sift corn flour, flour, salt, and sugar together. Add soy milk, flax egg, and butter. Knead the dough with hands, working until everything is cohesive. Let dough rest for 30 minutes.

Roll out dough and cut into three sections. There should be 11-12 rolls divided by three. 

To make plaits, take three narrow strands, placing the left over the middle and the right over the middle, being sure to seal pinch as each plait is made. Fill a pan with oil and take the simple syrup out of the refrigerator.Once the temperature is ready, drop the koeksisters in a few at a time so as not to crowd the pot. 

As the koeksisters turn brown, take them out immediately and shock them in the cold syrup.

Eat warm and freeze any leftovers.

Donuts and Other Good News

The exhibition catalogue is here!!!

I have good news to discuss.
First of all, I am now a contributor of The Artblog-- Philly's top source for arts and culture around the city and beyond. Here is a link to my first article, a Q&A with local artist Makeba Rainey. At Little Baby's Ice Cream, we discussed her digital media collages, the impact of gentrification, and the importance of collaboration/community.
I signed AfroVeganChick up for Vegan Mofo 2018, which begins next month. Recipes will be veganized versions of various dishes from all over Africa. The last day to be included is August 24th.
The "Hole History: Origins of the American-Style Donut" is out and looks amazing. It is a small, thick volume that fits easily in my purse. I had went down to Maine last year to see the exhibit (and brought along Dottie's apple fritters). Now the whole show (which had two locations) has been compiled rather impressively. Curator Alexis Iammarino received a Kindling Grant in order for this book to be a reality. Her efforts are worth noting. Plus, I cannot thank her enough for this generous gift. Please read more about the Hole History project-- her baby.

Dottie's Donuts was the perfect place to celebrate. After all, their elberberry and vanilla glazed are the stars of the watercolor painting, "Dear Doughnuts, A Love Letter on the Kente Cloth." 

I'm on page 78. The reproduction is beautiful, very high quality.

The whole layout.

These adorable donuts are in the front and end covers. Overall, it is a well designed book. I am absolutely honored and delighted to have been a part of this. I never thought that making art about something as delicious as donuts would pay off in such a profoundly amazing way. 

Vegan Mofo Post #3: Artisadough Doughnuts

Beautiful doughnuts. 

Today, I'm sharing a spectacular treat-- doughnuts!

I visited New York City a few weeks ago to attend the 21st Annual Urbanworld Film Festival. Prior to attending, I had a scrumptious breakfast in Brooklyn (my love Champs Diner). Afterward, due to the word of mouth, I came to Chicky's General Store to acquire Artisa Dough, a black owned doughnut company ran by Chef Shalom otherwise known as The Meditative Chef. His sophisticatedly crafted, uniquely conceived doughnuts contain no sugar, purely sweetened by plant-based nature. This charming quote on the site:

"Artisadough is plant-based art on a plate and our gift to you."

Now I didn't have the best customer service experience at Chicky's, and doubt that I'll return soon, but Chef Shalom's doughnuts are worth remembering. I had walked to the C Train station with two grease dripping bags, these sweets sweating in the intense, unexpected heat. So thus, they lost their original beautiful appearance, a little of the taste, but not their yummy potential.

The Pumpkin Chai Spice Latte doughnut, which I hungrily devoured during the film premiere of sci-fi, urban fantasy Brown Girl Begins, was absolutely delicious. I thought it genuinely mimicked the overall cake doughnut appearance and flavor, filled with tis the season sweetness, that distinctive pumpkin taste my tastebuds love and cherish. In the darkness, I mourned the loss, wishing to have bought only this doughnut, as opposed to wanting to try everything, but that's the vegan way-- giving all vegan treats an equal chance.

Unfortunately, the frosting of this Pink Lemonade donut melted away in the bag.  Still good and yeast-y.  Although, I think most of the Pink Lemonade flavor was supposed to be in the frosting. 

Mexican Chocolate Doughnut.

The creative, out of this orbit Purple Haze (very, very delicious) had Thai blue flowers and Madagascar vanilla-- definitely my second favorite. The flowers provided amazing flavor (that of which I didn't expect).

Two doughnuts melting onto one another. I learned not to carry around doughnuts in the heat. As you have witnessed, none of the doughnuts really looked like they came from the store. 

Price wise, Artisa Dough is a bit more expensive than Dun-Well Doughnuts, fairing a bit on the Cinnamon Snail side. They're $4.50 each at Chicky's and from Artisa Dough's site an online order of half-dozen is $35 (three flavor picks), and a full dozen is $60 (six flavor picks). For the future, I can see myself splurging on one or two doughnuts at a time, especially Pumpkin Chai Spice Latte and Purple Haze and sharing these joys with my friends.

The Creative Vegan Donut Frenzy At Whole Foods Market

"Just a friendly reminder to keep donut eating to a minimum," often said Vegan Jimina Cricket on my shoulder. It's hard to listen to her during a Whole Foods Market trip. I have been to that store many times. My heart stops, absolutely devastated when the vegan donuts are gone.

Whole Foods Market is surprisingly upping the vegan donut game. With impressive filled and powdered treats filling their bakery display cases, the popular grocery chain is jumping onto the dairy and egg free pastry wagon. Just the other day, they introduced an orange mango creme filled donut topped with dried mango. It was incredibly divine by the way.

This is the pancake donut. It had a light dusting of powdered sugar on top.

While the exterior tasted like a genuine pancake (hint of salt and all), the fluffy cream filling was thick and luscious, maple syrup notes flavoring each bite.

So so good....

Donuts also provide stamina during an intense drawing session. Thus, Whole Foods had created the blueberry pancake donut-- perfect fuel.

The vanilla blueberry cream center was wicked heaven. I'm drooling fondly over the memory....

A few weeks later, four vegan donuts were offered at the same time and they were all available. That is rare. Of course, Vegan Jemina Cricket wasn't pleased.

This apple cinnamon donut was good. I'm not a huge fan of crisp icing. I suppose that happens when holding onto a donut longer than a day. It's impossible to eat more than one within twenty four hours. One can feel the sugar coursing through them. That jolt is enough to survive on. Still, the cinnamon sprinkle was wonderful. For a moment, I could believe that this cinnamon and apples were a healthy treat.

The glossy filling alone is flickered with giant apple chunks.

Cherry lime became my absolute favorite. Cherry fiend spirit soared right through this beauty with lime frosting and plump amount of cherry cherry filling. It was a very fruity, very sweet experience.

I love cherry lime with all my heart and vow to request this flavor everyday. The blueberry pancake donut is also a second favorite. I hope that the bakers continue exploring, that new combinations take up glass display case, and tempt non-vegans as well. A cashier told me that she choses vegan donuts purely because they're not only damn good, the flavors are unique and fun. Another male employee repeated same sentiments. That often makes me smile, knowing that veganism is carving a small dent in the bakery aisle-- a place people truly believe cannot be tasty without eggs and dairy.

"Donuts/Doughnuts! Croissants! And Fruits!" Oh My Party

The scene of our special party held Friday on the 11th floor of PAFA's Hamilton Building. Doughnuts from Federal and vegan treasures from Dottie's Donuts and The Tasty, and fresh strawberries and juicy red grapes.

There's no better excuse to have sweets and treats affair like a kind going away get together. Amazing PAFA artists-- some who are staying in Philadelphia whereas others will move away-- built a solid community together. To commemorate our experiences, this irresistible menu included sugary fried goods and plentiful fruits.
We discussed PAFA, future plans after PAFA, veganism/vegetarianism and other random topics.
Still, sadly and with bittersweet feeling comes the final week of the 115th Annual Student Exhibition, the last week to sharing wall space together.
This is not simply an effort to have people run down to PAFA to see paintings, drawings, sculpture, printmaking, installation, and everything else. This is a request for an audience to see major pieces of beautiful, hard working tenacity from friends and colleagues that have earned great respect and admiration.
Here are the selected ASE highlights and below are treasures from the party.

The Tasty is Philadelphia's brand spanking new vegan diner that just opened. I have yet to try the breakfast and lunch platters, but their gorgeous vegan croissants were posted on their Facebook and Instagram pages, enticing my French fused craving. Flavors are chocolate and almond. Several friends preferred the almond over the chocolate. The chocolate is thick and clotted, very sweet. I could, however, understand the penchant for almond.....

Dottie's Donuts' flavors included Apple Cider with Maple Scone Crumble, Apple Fritter, Chocolate Cookie Crumble, Vanilla Coconut, Elderberry, and Vanilla Glazed. They were definitely surprised that these babies are dairy and egg free.

Fellow MFA peers Seth, Kate, and Tovah.

The last almond croissant.

Crisp, lightly flaked, semi-sweet and golden on the outside, a slight salty nutty flavor on the inside-- a winning combination!

Showing it off-- deliciously scrumptious from start to finish.

Group shot: Megan (Certificate) with us-- Seth, Kate, Tovah, and me. Plus the treats! Thanks Justine (BFA/Certificate certified) for the picture. A very huge congratulations to all of the graduates. I will miss them all.

 

 

 

 

Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts

Scrumptious treats blended with fresh chopped apple and warm fragrant spices.

Doughnuts-- the tasty sweet pastry that one can try to live without and have no real success.
Thankfully, Dottie's Donuts is an eleven minute trek from home.
On grey days, where the sun decides to hide splendid beauty showcased just warmly yesterday, one takes matters into their own grubby hands to save a little time and money. My first attempt at vegan doughnuts, two years ago, were Sour Cream Doughnut Holes in fact. They were crisp on the outside due to the generous sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar and pliantly moist on the inside.
Weeks ago, I purchased a doughnut pan at Michael's (they were having a 30% off baking supplies sale) and put off ideas, knowing that my favorite place would be opening soon. Now that I have tried and fallen deeper in love, was there room left to make one's own?
Of course.
Why not have the best of both worlds?
I wanted to try crafting a baked version and loved My Darling Vegan's Apple Cider Doughnuts. With her recipe as an inspirational guide, I added cloves, ginger, and chopped Gala apple and omitted the canola oil to add extra applesauce. 
These don't taste like authentic traditional style doughnuts of yore. Maybe due to my using whole wheat flour instead of all purpose-- which I will use next time. It has a muffin flavor profile, not exactly doughnut, but its delicious taste has autumn bells ringing early. Plus the sweetness might be too strong. I liked gaining the simple lessons learned from creating this introductory doughnut bath and plan to invent other recipes down the road.
And still go to Dottie's along journeying way. 

Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts Ingredients and Preparation

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking poweder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup apple cider
2 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Gala apple, chopped

Glaze

1/4 cup apple cider

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Counter full of pleasing ingredients.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease doughnut pan. 
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice together.
Mix apple cider, apple sauce, maple syrup, and vanilla.
Combine wet and dry ingredients together.

Add chopped apple. Stir evenly well.

Spoon batter into the doughnut pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let doughnuts cool.

Brush each doughnut in apple cider and coat with cinnamon-sugar.

Serve and eat.

Dottie's Donuts: The Sweetly Launched Storefront

It was such a treat that Dottie's Donuts, one of the staple desserts for local sweet-tooth addictive vegans, has finally opened their West Philadelphia location this bright, beautiful morning.

Over the past few months, Dottie's Donuts has been a wonderful, necessary fix.
They sell their animal free rounded deliciousness at various area locations. Center City's Govinda's is usually my place of choice, being near school and all. 
Now Dottie's has cemented a stake in the neighborhood-- aka great walking distance and a reason for the euphoric pep step. Although missing the free cookies and other goodies, I was pleasantly surprised by the spectacle, reminding me a bit of Dun-Well Doughnuts-- the donuts on a stack on silver racks, purchased donuts removed from mentioned racks, and even how donuts were displayed. Yet while Dun-Well Doughnuts has that rustic, bicycle aesthetic, Dottie's Donuts has an irresistibly unique presence offering good harmless fun. Plus both doughtnut-teries spell "donut" rather differently.
Still, I love both places. I'm especially thrilled for Dottie's-- it's been a long time coming.
Happy heart, satisfied belly, and sugar high taste buds would love to thank the hardworking, very creative peeps behind Dottie's Donuts and wish them all the best of luck in the world. So many of us, vegans and non-vegans, are hyper-enthusiastic and proud to guzzle up mouthwatering donuts!

The confectionery painted decor is a charming bold pink and white with heavy black accents which suits purpose quite well. Joyous singing and skipping around groups of animated donuts added humored spunk and mischievous spirit. Makes it a friendly, approachable location to gobble away. The place is also small and intimate, so whatever the donut rush hour may be, just giving a heads up that things might get tight.

Donuts, outside of their traditional four flavor a day variety, there were about ten choices (some sold out like the Boston Cream Pie). The clean clear display case showed off chocolate, chocolate peanut butter pretzel, stuffed peanut and butter and jelly, lemon poppyseed, Rooibos tea, and others. There was also iced cinnamon rolls, cellophane wrapped muffins, bagels with choice cream cheeses, coffee drinks and tea. Overall, a perfect menu with a reasonable price.

Donuts en route home. Only one did not survive entirety of journey....

In radiant sunshine and to the hip classic beat of Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive," I hold no shame in revealing that minutely warm blueberry maple met a rather gluttonous end. Pliant, moist and tender donut tasted like heaven's sugared brilliance, almost causing some traffic stopping dancing in the streets. Sugar twinged insides chirped with delightful pleasure at the knowledge that this is perhaps the freshest donut I have ever personally consumed by beloved Dottie. And I am even more pleased to state that walking down to a vegan favorite will be the most cherished event of my mornings now. One could get used to yummy specialty.