Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe:May 2008 Newsletter

We hope your May is breezing along wonderfully. And a Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! We have some fun new products to tell you about, so let's get right to it.

First of all, we now have in stock some really awesome vegan-themed jewelry created by Dallas-based vegan artist Christy Robinson. Check out the full selection of Christy's offerings here.

In the snack department, we now have all four of the new cookie flavors from everyone's favorite cookie bakers, Liz Lovely. There's Chocolate Moose Dragons- Leigh's favorite, Snicker Dudes- Ken's favorite, Goat's a' Grazin' and Macaroonies Sock-it-to-Me. See all of the new Liz Lovely yummies here.

Also brand new: Probars! Probars are delicious meal replacement bars that actually keep you satisfied until your next meal. We've been eating these like crazy lately. They come in twelve tasty flavors, found here.

Those dudes at Herbivore Clothing Company are always coming up with great new shirt designs. Their latest is this adorable bunny, available on a unisex, heather green tee. What a nice tee! Look at this shirt here.

Speaking of Portland, our friends at Herbivore Magazine and Food Fight! Grocery in conjunction with Vegans for Animal Advocacy and No Compromise are presenting the Let Live Conference. If you live in Portland, Oregon or are planning to visit June 27-29, please attend the Let Live Conference! This is a conference commited to strengthening the animal rights community.

Be sure to check out the complete list of new products here. And as always, we are offering a 10% discount for newsletter subscribers only (see right sidebar).

Thank you to everyone for another great month! We have big plans in the upcoming months. Look out for an updated website, new tee shirt designs and more new, exciting vegan products.Until next time.... stay vegan!

Teese Mozzarella Sticks

Our friend Elise gave us the bright idea to use Teese in the most evil and delicious way possible- fried Teese sticks! Much like the favorite bar-style mozzarella sticks from your pre-vegan days, but cruelty-free! Unless you count eating fried foods as cruel to your stomach.

Makes about 8 sticks

½ lb of Teese vegan mozzarella (1/2 of package)
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup Red Star nutritional yeast
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
1 cup plain almond milk
enough high-heat oil for deep frying, such as peanut oil.

Cut Teese into sticks about ½ inch or so thick. Put on a plate and place sticks in the freezer for about 1 hour. Once the sticks are nice and cold, remove from freezer and get your oil ready.
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large pot or deep fryer. Oil must reach 350-375 degrees before frying. Make sure you have enough oil to completely immerse the Teese sticks. Get three small bowls. Place almond milk in the first bowl, the flour, nutritional yeast and spices in the second bowl, and the panko breadcrumbs in the third bowl.
Once your oil is hot enough, begin breading your sticks. Take one Teese stick, dip it in the milk, and then coat it in the flour mix. Dip once more in the milk, and then finish by coating in the panko breadcrumbs.
Drop each coated stick into the hot oil, and watch them carefully. As soon as the sticks turn a golden brown, remove them from the oil with a large slotted spoon and place on a paper towel covered plate to drain. If the sticks stay in the oil for too long, the Teese will begin to melt, so fast is important!
Serve sticks with warm tomato sauce for dipping. Enjoy!