Hot damn! It's veggie hot dog day!

Chicago: Home of the yours truly,die hard sports fans, amazing music, wind, the lake (michigan to all you non illinois dwellers) weather you love and love to hate, delicious pizza, and amazing hot dogs! Chicago style of course.... 
This is why I've set out to find the most amazing veggie dog.
Not just any veggie dog will do. It has to be perfect.

So off to the store I went,Dunkin coffee in hand..poppy seed buns- check! Mustard-check! Sweet Relish-check! Sport peppers-check! *Ketchup-check! (*so not chicago style :p)

The plan: cook up some dogs cut each in half and taste test :)

The results so far:

Yves good dog: 4.5 stars
It was quite good as far as taste and texture. My favorite so far! I boiled in water as directed then gave it a quick burn in the broiler. There is however something lacking in the taste department, it has a strange hint of nutmeg or other unnatural hotdog spice to it. All in all yum!

Tofu Pups: 4 stars

Gotta love the name! These "pups" were actually really ugly when I cooked them..ala school lunch hot dogs. The taste was very spot on and resembled an all beef oscar meyer type hotdog. Again I boiled as directed,  these hotdogs are chubbie puppies. They are a bit thicker then the yves brand.

Veggiepatch: 3 stars
There was one MAJOR turn off to these dogs. In the package (they come frozen) they look greenish. When you cook them (boiled in water) loads of green and yellow grease come off of them. They taste petty good but really don't have as good of a taste as the others.

Smart Dogs: 2 stars
If you like those gas station 2/99¢ dogs ...these are your dogs. (Flavor and texture cheapo all the way  )These are really not my favorite. They are mushy and have a smell to them. Id be willing to possibly try them again(perhaps I got a bad batch?)

That's all so far. It isn't bbq season yet and I don't think I can eat any more dogs today! More to come.

From PETA..with love....chocolate chili truffles

So I am default one for chocolate and I love spicy. PETA recently posted this recipe on twitter and I decided to share with you all . Hope you enjoy- I know I did!
1/2 lb. semisweet vegan chocolate finely chopped(i used dark)
1/3 cup soy creamer
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 1/4 tsp. ancho chili powder, divided
2 Tbsp. vegan margarine, at room temperature(i used best life)
2 Tbsp. turbinado sugar (i like sugar in the raw)
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sea salt
****quick note from me before you begin...butter and chocolate can burn and rate really bad and get chunky and nasty so please cook at medium and follow directions :)

Place the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute.
Stir and continue to heat until completely melted, about 1 minute more.
Meanwhile, bring the soy creamer, corn syrup, and 1/4 tsp. of the chili powder to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Gradually whisk the "cream" into the chocolate until smooth and shiny, then whisk in the margarine until very smooth. Cover the surface of the chocolate with plastic wrap.
Set aside in a cool spot until slightly firm, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, mix the turbinado sugar, the remaining 1 tsp. chili powder, the cinnamon, and the sea salt together and set aside.
Line a baking sheet very tightly with plastic wrap.
Pipe or spoon the truffle mixture onto the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tops with the sugar-chili mixture.
Refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes.

Enjoy:) and thanks for the recipe!