I love to bake – ask anyone.  I’ll use any excuse to bake and bring my sweet treats to any function, so for Thanksgiving I  knew I wanted to bring a baked item for the group.  I don’t have the patience to make a pie and cookies seemed “vin ordinaire”, so…enter Sweet Potato cake!  It was the 1st time I attempted this recipe (adapted from VegNews) and it could not have worked out better.  It was hearty and moist, sweet and a bit spicy – not to mention, it looked like a knockout!

For The Cake Batter:

• 3 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1-1/4 cups unbleached cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 (15-ounce) can sweet potato purée (Or make your own from canned sweet potatoes pieces.  I did.)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup safflower oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

For The Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

• 2/3 cup margarine
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted and divided

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 8-inch cake pans (I used a round spring form for both layers). For the batter, in a large bowl whisk together pastry flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Add sweet potato purée, water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla and whisk well to form a smooth batter.
2. Evenly divide cake batter between prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool for 15 minutes in pans. Transfer to a wire rack, let cool 10 minutes, remove from cake pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.
3. For the frosting, in a large bowl beat margarine with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. With beaters going, slowly add powdered sugar, almond milk, and vanilla, and beat for 2 to 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat an additional 30 seconds.
4. To assemble cake, place one cake layer on serving platter. Spread the frosting evenly on first layer. Place remaining cake layer on top. Frost the sides and top of the layer cake with frosting, as desired, and then sprinkle the pecans over the top.

Seriously delicious… people are still talking about it.

This week Living GWG Beauty Editor, Sara Jones-Rust, traded lip gloss testing for wine tasting!

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of a private tasting at Foxen Winery in Santa Maria, CA. And by private, I mean while my husband and his crew were there shooting footage for their documentary before business hours, I was being thoroughly entertained by Foxen’s amazing staff and falling under the spell of their magical wines. Nothing like a 10 a.m. wine tasting!

Foxen is more than just a maker of fantastic wines, in August their main tasting room and winery became solar powered. A portion of their grapes are ‘dry farmed’ – which means they grow their grapes without irregation, hence saving water. I have lived in Southern CA for a little over two years now and I can say with certainty I’ve seen it rain about five times. So coming from Indiana where we grow a lot of things (ok, mostly corn) that is an amazing feat. Their main goal is to be sustainable in as many ways as they can and it shows in the way they produce their wine and the way they serve it. Plus the staff are such a fun bunch I want to go back every weekend to hang with them.

I can say that you will be happy buying anything from a Chenin Blanc to a Pinot Noir anywhere that Foxen distributes (Whole Foods seemed to be a popular place on their distributor list), but if you are in So. Cal you should absolutely treat yourself to a visit. Their new (solar powered) tasting room is lovely and dog friendly and The Shack – the second of their tasting rooms – is a quaint lovely stop. I could sit for hours on their patio sipping their marvelous wines.

Looking for a holiday recipe in a pinch… we found it (via GirlieGirl Army via Veg News):

RECIPE: Chocolate Almond Brittle

When you’re not stressing about dealing with the family for Thanksgiving, whip up a batch of this decadent brittle from cookbook author and overall veggie goddess, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Easy, delicious, and way more fun to give out to during the holidays than fruitcake!

Serves 10

What You Need:

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, room temperature
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 ounces vegan graham crackers (about 6 rectangles)
1-1/4 cups almonds, toasted and chopped

What You Do:

1. Lightly grease a 9-inch square or round cake pan. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the margarine and chocolate. Meanwhile, break up the graham crackers into small pieces (but not crumbs).

2. Once the margarine and chocolate are melted, remove from heat and stir in the graham crackers and chopped nuts.

3. Spread mixture into prepared baking pan. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours or until set. Store in an airtight container.

Looking for a holiday recipe in a pinch… we found it (via GirlieGirl Army via Veg News):

RECIPE: Chocolate Almond Brittle

When you’re not stressing about dealing with the family for Thanksgiving, whip up a batch of this decadent brittle from cookbook author and overall veggie goddess, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Easy, delicious, and way more fun to give out to during the holidays than fruitcake!

Serves 10

What You Need:

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, room temperature
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 ounces vegan graham crackers (about 6 rectangles)
1-1/4 cups almonds, toasted and chopped

What You Do:

1. Lightly grease a 9-inch square or round cake pan. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the margarine and chocolate. Meanwhile, break up the graham crackers into small pieces (but not crumbs).

2. Once the margarine and chocolate are melted, remove from heat and stir in the graham crackers and chopped nuts.

3. Spread mixture into prepared baking pan. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours or until set. Store in an airtight container.

And she answered!

It’s an amazing honor to be singled out by editor extraordinaire, Anna Griffin, as the home design expert for Coco Eco’s holiday gift giving… and our fearless leader, Deana Bracken, met the challenge.

When asked for her eco-stylish gift picks, Deana went for everything from high-end furniture pieces by PURE

to Vegan baked goods by Fakery

to edgy glass skulls by Esque Studio.

For the complete scoop… check out the current issue of Coco Eco, pages 124-125.  And then read the rest of the magazine – it’s a stunner!

Fall & Winter fashion is all about the layers!  The idea is to stay warm & stylish and NOT look bulked up or sloppy.  A well-designed cardigan is definitely a key piece… something with a little bit of structure that will look smashing over anything from a lace cami to your favorite vintage plaid flannel number AND you can manage it under your top layer without looking like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man!

Avoid this look!

These two beautiful pieces are perfect layering solutions in the most divine and flattering hue of blue – the major difference… the price tag.

Lutz & Patmos – $495

PI Organic at Green With Glamour  – $125

You decide…

The Stott Family of Lena, IL were the subjects of this week’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition on ABC.   Down in their luck – not only because if the hard hit American farmers have taken in this economy AND with global warming climate conditions – the wife and mother of three teenagers, Joey, is a Leukemia survivor.  To help design the new, energy efficient farm house for the family of 5… David Duchovny was on hand to lend support to both the show and the idea of building with energy efficiency (the new farm is complete with a windmill!).

For the interiors… who did the design producers turn to for some amazing, “eco-chic” home decor?  You guessed it – Green With Glamour!  Front and center on the Stott Family’s new coffee table sits the recycled glass pedestal bowl from GWG!

And for the Master bedroom, the shows host Ty Pennington, opted to display 2 beautiful, one-of-a-kind salvaged wood pieces by Hitoshi Tanaka (we have since sold out of Mr. Tanaka’s pieces).

One of Tanaka’s gorgeous pieces used for the EMHE Stott Family house!

And scene.

The Stott Family of Lena, IL were the subjects of this week’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition on ABC.   Down in their luck – not only because if the hard hit American farmers have taken in this economy AND with global warming climate conditions – the wife and mother of three teenagers, Joey, is a Leukemia survivor.  To help design the new, energy efficient farm house for the family of 5… David Duchovny was on hand to lend support to both the show and the idea of building with energy efficiency (the new farm is complete with a windmill!).

For the interiors… who did the design producers turn to for some amazing, “eco-chic” home decor?  You guessed it – Green With Glamour!  Front and center on the Stott Family’s new coffee table sits the recycled glass pedestal bowl from GWG!

And for the Master bedroom, the shows host Ty Pennington, opted to display 2 beautiful, one-of-a-kind salvaged wood pieces by Hitoshi Tanaka (we have since sold out of Mr. Tanaka’s pieces).

One of Tanaka’s gorgeous pieces used for the EMHE Stott Family house!

And scene.

The lovely & talented actress, animal rights advocate and eco-chic style arbiter Ginnifer Goodwin is one of those tough cases we encounter a lot with our “Do-Gooder” pieces… it’s hard to narrow down a specific week to feature her because she always seems to be doing good.

Whether she’s raising awareness to stop the atrocities of puppy mills with the Humane Society or heading up the Adopt-A-Turkey Program with Farm Sanctuary – or promoting Veganism via W Magazine… Ms. Goodwin is our kind of celeb – chic, thoughtful, talented and socially responsible!

However, this week we had to feature the Big Love actress because we spied her at Environmental Media Association Awards in Los Angeles wearing an edgy & elegant dress made of old hospital scrubs!  Did you see???

Created by students of the Academy of Art University, the re-used fabric had been treated, dyed and pleated into this gorgeous, “green” number.  Brilliant “sustainable” design meets beautiful, eco-minded actress… love, Love, LOVE!

The lovely & talented actress, animal rights advocate and eco-chic style arbiter Ginnifer Goodwin is one of those tough cases we encounter a lot with our “Do-Gooder” pieces… it’s hard to narrow down a specific week to feature her because she always seems to be doing good.

Whether she’s raising awareness to stop the atrocities of puppy mills with the Humane Society or heading up the Adopt-A-Turkey Program with Farm Sanctuary – or promoting Veganism via W Magazine… Ms. Goodwin is our kind of celeb – chic, thoughtful, talented and socially responsible!

However, this week we had to feature the Big Love actress because we spied her at Environmental Media Association Awards in Los Angeles wearing an edgy & elegant dress made of old hospital scrubs!  Did you see???

Created by students of the Academy of Art University, the re-used fabric had been treated, dyed and pleated into this gorgeous, “green” number.  Brilliant “sustainable” design meets beautiful, eco-minded actress… love, Love, LOVE!

After last week’s post about lip balm, I started thinking about lip color. Not just keeping them soft and kissable, but completing a look. After all, we need variety to shake things up.

For the last few weeks I’ve been trying out Sukicolor’s Pure Cream Stain in Dahlia. This has been great for everyday wear. It’s soft and creamy and it comes in a cute little pot that is easy to throw in my purse without worrying about the cap coming off. There are several colors in neutral shades and it’s great for hydrating dry lips, nice in this cooler weather. You can’t beat Suki’s business philosophy (you should read the whole About section on their site, I was very impressed) which is, “having honest, complete information, so we can arm ourselves with the knowledge to make the right decisions & find the right solutions in what we consume & absorb both inside & out.” Amen.

Neutral or au-natural lips are typically my style, but sometimes, I like to go red. I wondered if the Old Hollywood red lips, generally made of petroleum, aluminum, lanolin and a whole lot of other things we don’t want on or in our bodies would have to be a thing of the past. Not so! Gabriel Color Lipstick is brilliant. It comes in a ton of colors (pomegranate is the shade pictured), is made of natural waxes and is totally vegan. Hooray! My inner femme fatale can still come out and play.

As if one Thanksgiving feast is not enough… We’re going to have two!  We’ll be spending the actual holiday with a lot of our meat-eating friends, so I’ll be bringing my own Vegan feast for my husband & myself (and of course to proove to the carnivores how delicious animal-free food can be)!  I was going to do a tradtional Tofurky with all of the fixings (which I’m still going to do, but that’s meal #2), and this recipe from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen REALLY caught my eye!  It’s a lot of work, but I feel resolute that it will be worth it…

Photo from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen

Use any combination of baking dishes–several smaller or two larger–but be sure they’re deep enough to hold about 1 1/2-inches worth of stew plus another inch for the topping.

2 pounds potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
8 ounces mushrooms, quartered
2 large carrots, diced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper — or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 1/2 cups frozen baby peas
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon mellow white miso
6 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons water

Seitan  (*though I will probably just buy prepared at Whole Foods)

1 cup vital wheat gluten
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup Imagine No-Chicken Broth, cold (or other veg. broth)
1 tablespoon tahini or other nut butter

Biscuit Topping

2 cups unbleached white flour
2 cups white whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup pumpkin (canned or cooked and water pressed out)
1 cup unsweetened soymilk –mixed with 2 tablespoons lemon juice
additional soymilk or water as needed

Put 12 cups of water on to boil in a large (at least 6-quart) soup pot. Add each vegetable (potatoes, onion, celery, mushrooms, carrots) to the pot as you chop it. Add the bay leaves, thyme, sage, garlic, poultry seasoning, onion powder, celery salt, soy sauce, pepper, and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the seitan: Mix the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Combine the broth and nut butter. Stir the broth mixture into the dry ingredients until well blended. Knead gently 10 times. Turn out onto a cutting board and press it as flat as possible. Let it rest for about 5 minutes. Then using a sharp knife, cut it into 1/2-inch cubes. Add the seitan cubes to the simmering vegetables, taking care to separate them before they go into the pot. Stir well and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After 45 minutes, remove the bay leaves and add the peas. Mix the miso in a small bowl with a little of the hot broth, and then add it to the stew, along with the nutritional yeast. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil, stirring often. When mixture thickens, reduce heat and allow to simmer while you make the biscuits. (If stew does not seem thick enough, add a little more cornstarch/water.)

(You can make the recipe up until this point the day before serving and refrigerate the filling. When ready to assemble, reheat the stew as you make the biscuit topping. Stew should be hot when the biscuits are placed on top.)

Preheat oven to 400 and oil two or more deep casserole dishes (any combination of casserole dishes or pie pans to hold about 6 liters). Mix the dry ingredients for the biscuits in a medium bowl. Stir in the pumpkin and the soymilk/lemon juice. Add additional soymilk or water a teaspoon at a time as you stir until all flour is moistened and dough forms a ball. Turn out onto floured board and knead two or three times. Roll out to 1/2- inch thick, and cut into circles using a 1 1/2-inch wide floured glass or biscuit cutter. Gather remaining dough and use it to cut additional biscuits. You should have between 24 and 30. (Alternately, cut the biscuit dough to fit the pans, leaving about an inch all around to allow for dough to expand.)

Pour the stew into the prepared pans, making sure there is at least 1/2-inch free at the top. Place the biscuits on top, spacing them evenly. Bake until biscuits are lightly browned, 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Servings: 12

I had my beloved cat, Dakis, flown down to me while I was living in Miami years ago – and it was a traumatic experience for both of us.  She had already landed when I arrived at the airport and I could hear her whaling the second I walked through the airport doors.  They’d put her in cargo – she was cold and terrified.  Needless to say… I’ll never do that again.

Well, animal rights activist & Green With Glamour friend, Jorja Fox, just turned me on to Pet Airways – a comfortable, caring way to transport your pets via air.

Here’s their credo:

We promise to transport your pet with lots of love, care, safety, and comfort in the main cabin.

Pet Airways is the first airline exclusively dedicated to pets – no humans please – and we take the job of providing a comfortable experience for pets very seriously.

We’ll do everything in our power to make sure your pets get the best care during their journey because we’re committed to taking care of our pet “pawsengers” as if they were our own.

“Pawsengers”… I mean, C’mon!  How cute is that?!?

Lisa, the lovely & oh-so-stylish editor of powerhouse fashion blog, Racked LA, attended the POPOMOMO Trunk Show last night at the Green With Glamour Pop Up Shop (after attended a day’s worth of other sales around town).  She checked out the collections, we chatted about the highs & lows of being professional and passionate shoppers… and then she wrote her review.  And I quote:

“Now THAT’s how you do a Pop Up… What makes this popup exceptional is the uniqueness of it: It’s a thoughtfully-curated collection of merchandise that you can’t get at a store down the street (yeah, we’re talking to YOU, J. Crew at Ron Herman).”

Wow.  I’m speechless (well, not really)… to have a revered pro like Lisa write such praise is truly awesome!  For her entire review – and to check out the other great stories at Racked LA, click here.

Bess’ tunic by POPOMOMO… one of my personal faves.

Lisa, the lovely & oh-so-stylish editor of powerhouse fashion blog, Racked LA, attended the POPOMOMO Trunk Show last night at the Green With Glamour Pop Up Shop (after attended a day’s worth of other sales around town).  She checked out the collections, we chatted about the highs & lows of being professional and passionate shoppers… and then she wrote her review.  And I quote:

“Now THAT’s how you do a Pop Up… What makes this popup exceptional is the uniqueness of it: It’s a thoughtfully-curated collection of merchandise that you can’t get at a store down the street (yeah, we’re talking to YOU, J. Crew at Ron Herman).”

Wow.  I’m speechless (well, not really)… to have a revered pro like Lisa write such praise is truly awesome!  For her entire review – and to check out the other great stories at Racked LA, click here.

Bess’ tunic by POPOMOMO… one of my personal faves.

I have a soft spot for Bergdorf’s.  Granted, I hope they get wise and start making much “greener” choices, but I find their overall collection Top Notch!  I was skimming their dress selections when I can across a remarkably familiar design.  Check it:

Donna Karan $1495

EcoSkin $81.50

(currently 50% OFF at GreenWith Glamour!)

Both gorgeous, but…you decide!

Last spring my brother’s girlfriend gave me a beautiful journal for my wedding shower. In the bottom of the gift bag were two tubes of lip balm rolling around. She looked at me laughing saying she knew lip balm was a weird shower gift. I shrugged and noted that my love for soft lips was nearly equal to my love for writing, so the gift seemed perfect to me. But then she explained that this was no ordinary lip balm, this was the best. Lip balm. Ever. Seriously.

She was right. I’ve been using Yes To Carrots lip balm ever since. There are actually three “Yes To” product lines – the previously mentioned Yes To Carrots, for normal to dry skin; Yes To Tomatoes, for oily to combination skin; and Yes To Cucumbers, for Normal to Sensitive Skin. They are much more than just lip care, they have entire lines of body, hair and hand care products. And they are everything we love, cruelty and paraben free, made with organic veggies and the company is making efforts to reduce their carbon foot print. Plus the formulas contain lovely things that you’d actually want to put on your skin, like various teas, aloe and dead sea minerals.

My husband has since stolen my tube of Yes To Carrots lip balm and will not give it back. This is a man who will not use even the smallest amount of moisturizer on his face because he hates any “slimy” feeling on his skin. And by slimy he means, sticky, greasy, moist, or anything that alters the way his natural skin feels. This is how I know this is a truly superior product. Beauty editor tested, husband approved.

Check out the lovely Yes to Carrots Lip Tint too!

Last spring my brother’s girlfriend gave me a beautiful journal for my wedding shower. In the bottom of the gift bag were two tubes of lip balm rolling around. She looked at me laughing saying she knew lip balm was a weird shower gift. I shrugged and noted that my love for soft lips was nearly equal to my love for writing, so the gift seemed perfect to me. But then she explained that this was no ordinary lip balm, this was the best. Lip balm. Ever. Seriously.

She was right. I’ve been using Yes To Carrots lip balm ever since. There are actually three “Yes To” product lines – the previously mentioned Yes To Carrots, for normal to dry skin; Yes To Tomatoes, for oily to combination skin; and Yes To Cucumbers, for Normal to Sensitive Skin. They are much more than just lip care, they have entire lines of body, hair and hand care products. And they are everything we love, cruelty and paraben free, made with organic veggies and the company is making efforts to reduce their carbon foot print. Plus the formulas contain lovely things that you’d actually want to put on your skin, like various teas, aloe and dead sea minerals.

My husband has since stolen my tube of Yes To Carrots lip balm and will not give it back. This is a man who will not use even the smallest amount of moisturizer on his face because he hates any “slimy” feeling on his skin. And by slimy he means, sticky, greasy, moist, or anything that alters the way his natural skin feels. This is how I know this is a truly superior product. Beauty editor tested, husband approved.

Check out the lovely Yes to Carrots Lip Tint too!

It’s official… we’ve got the brick & mortar bug!  We love having a storefront just as much as we love selling online.  AND we just marked down a CRAZY amount of women’s & men’s clothing and gifts 50% OFF… that won’t be on sale on the Green With Glamour site until Wednesday!

If you’re in LA, come by for some SERIOUS DEALS (and to visit)!

2912 Rowena Avenue  LA  CA  90039 (between Coffee Table & Lake Boutique)