Another Round of Fair Trade Chocolate Chips

April 30, 2013 - Posted by Dawn Stary to General Tasty Tuesday

For the past three Tasty Tuesdays, this one included, I have been making chocolate chip cookies with fair trade chocolate chips. We thought this would be fun for two reasons: we would get to taste test several different fair trade chocolate chips and we would get to share recipes from some of our favorite food bloggers. I’ve really enjoyed trying the different recipes and recommend all of them to you (click here for the first week and here for the second week, the third recipe is below).

The Chocolate Chips from Weeks 1 & 3

The most surprising thing I found from these past several Tasty Tuesday posts was the difficulty in finding three different fair trade chocolate chips. I went to three different stores, which all carry a large amount of fair trade items and wasn’t able to find a third type of fair trade chocolate chips. I have heard in the past that fair trade chocolate is particularly expensive to purchase so there is less of it on the market. I find this discouraging!

The Chocolate Chips from Week 2

But there’s good news!!! The fair trade chocolate chips that I used were very good. I would say if I had to choose one over the other I am a bigger fan of the Guittard chocolate chips; they really are delicious.

Now for this week’s recipe from Oh She Glows:

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Photo: Oh She Glows

print this recipe!

Yield: 12-14 large cookies

Ingredients:

7 tbsp Earth Balance + 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or 1/2 cup Earth Balance- see note)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cane sugar (or use white)
1 flax egg: (1 tbsp ground flaxed mixed with 3 tbsp water)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix together the flax egg and set aside.

2. With an electric mixer or in a stand mixer, beat the Earth Balance until fluffy. Add the brown sugar and cane sugar and beat for 1-2 minutes until creamy. Beat in the flax egg.

3. Beat in the remaining ingredients and fold in the chocolate chips.

4. Shape balls of dough and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes (or up to 14 min. on a Silpat mat). Allow to cool for 5 min. on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack for another 10 minutes.

Note 1) For a crispier cookie edge, use 7 tbsp Earth Balance and 1 tbsp olive oil. I preferred cooking them this way. They also spread out a bit more. Alternatively, for a softer cookie, use 1/2 cup Earth Balance and no oil.

Note 2) To retain the crispy factor of the cookies place them in the freezer after cooling in a container or baggie. It was the only method I tried that kept the crispiness of the cookies! Simply thaw on the counter top.

My cookies weren’t entirely vegan because I used chips with at least some traces of milk but dark chocolate chips are definitely out there for you to use in a vegan recipe. And I used applesauce instead of flax seed (1/4 cup applesauce = 1 egg). Also, a little shout out for Earth Balance, my family eats this on toast all the time and it really is a tasty alternative to butter. Finally, I always use the whole bag of chocolate chips in any cookies that I make!!

It’s Sandal Season! {Product Spotlight}

April 26, 2013 - Posted by Casey Trogden to Fashion

Summer is right around the corner! And in anticipation of the sunny days ahead, you might be itching to break out your warm-weather wardrobe. If you’re anything like me, you’re ready to shed those winter boots and give your newly manicured toes some room to breathe.

Luckily, here at Seven Hopes we have the perfect antidote to tired winter tootsies. Our Sseko sandals have always been a bestseller, but our newest accessories really take these comfy shoes over the top. Check out our freshest ways to wear these fun sandals:

You can order the comfy 100% leather base for these sandals right here, then go to town ordering straps and accessories to really make them your own! They’ve been featured in Redbook, Shape, and People Stylewatch magazines, and we’re thinking they’ll be everywhere this summer. And they’re perfect for tossing in your vacation suitcase when space is limited!

A few notes on the background of these sandals and the talented women that make them:
Each sandal has five anchor points to lace the straps through, and allow you to tie your sandals differently every day. You can also purchase additional straps to change the whole look of your sandals. Your purchase helps provide university fees for young women who are a part of Sseko Design’s internship program. Sseko Designs hires recent secondary school graduates for a nine-month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly toward their university education. These women will not make sandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war. When you buy Sseko sandals and their accessories, you are truly empowering these women to live out their dreams.

What are you waiting for? Happy shopping!

XO,
Casey

Real Couple’s Favorite Fair Trade Products – Casey & Dave

April 24, 2013 - Posted by Ashleigh Krawll to General Real Couples

“Wedding Registry Wednesday” is easily becoming my favorite day of the week! I love seeing what other couples favorite fair trade products are! Today we have adorable Casey and Dave, who just so happen to be SoCal transplants like my husband and I! A big thanks to Casey and Dave for sharing their favorite picks, and if you are interested in having your favorite fair trade products featured, email me and I will give you more details (it is easy and painless, I promise)!

Dave and I live in sunny Southern California, where blue skies and bright colors abound. So we like to reflect that in our decorating style! We enjoy variety and a fun color palette and nothing too serious or complicated. When registering for items from Seven Hopes United, we chose practical items in fresh, fun patterns and textures. I love the variety of items at Seven Hopes and obviously the fair trade concept, which is what drew us to the site in the first place. When I began searching for “fair trade wedding gifts” on the Internet, I was pleasantly surprised to find Seven Hopes. I knew that most fair trade products were unique and beautiful, but I was especially in love with many of the items on the Seven Hopes site. Here are few of my favorites that we received from our registry. – Casey

1) Large Green Stripe Mango Wood Salad Bowl
This bowl brightens up the table every night and, to be honest, makes salad more appealing! It’s a beautiful design and makes dinner a bit more of an “event.”

2) Antiqued Elephant Wine Bottle Cork
It’s the little things that make me smile, and the elephant reminds me of our honeymoon in Thailand!

3) Love Bowl
Perfect for holding fruit or any type of cute table display. Solves that “what to put in the middle of the table” problem!

4) Cobalt Classics Drinking Glasses
These glasses are elegant but with a fun pop of color at the top.

5) Passion Flower Citrus Napkins
Love these for having friends over; they’re perfect for a fun and laid-back dinner party!

How Tuesday: Blend Your Own Fair Trade Tea

April 23, 2013 - Posted by Dawn Stary to General How Tuesday

I recently attended a tea party themed baby shower and thought it would be wonderful to blend a special tea for the mom-to-be. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and wasn’t able to get a tea blended for her but I still loved the idea of blending my own fair trade tea so I inquired further with a friend who works for a local coffee and tea purveyor in San Diego.

Chamomile Flower & Green Sencha Tea

I chose a green tea and chamomile flower tea. Isn’t the chamomile flower just lovely to look at? This combination appealed to me because I don’t enjoy the taste of green tea but like the healthy benefits it offers. The blend of these fair trade teas created a wonderful flavor; the chamomile masked the taste of the green tea. But you can experiment with all sorts of loose leafs. A black tea combined with an orange or peach tea might be nice as well.

Chamomile Flower & Green Sencha Blended: a lovely combination

Combine the two or three teas you’d like to blend and then place the mixture in an infuser (you can pick an infuser up online or a shop like Target and some coffee shops sell them too) and allow the tea to steep in hot water just as you would with a bag of tea you purchase at the grocery store.

The infuser we used was Tea ZE Infused

I was able to pick up loose leaf at a Cafe Virtuoso, a coffee shop which sells coffee drinks as well as tea and coffee to make at home. However, one could purchase loose leaf tea in her grocery store as well as online and your community will most likely have a local roaster who sells specialty loose leaf teas for you to choose from.

I found it quite fun to blend my own fair trade teas and look forward to sharing my new combination with friends for birthday gifts, the holidays or as a hostess present. And wouldn’t the mix of chamomile tea and green tea look so pretty in a mason jar along with one of Seven Hopes United’s Eva Hand Painted Mugs? Just a thought!

Have wonderful day – Dawn

Fair Trade & Ethical Date Night!

April 22, 2013 - Posted by Dawn Stary to Fair Trade News Fashion

Ahh! Date night! Whether you’re single or married for 40 years, you have to admit that a date night is always fun!!! Some fun date nights I have had have been while drinking beer at a bowling alley (what can I say, I love to bowl, though I am pretty terrible at it). But I have to admit I love to dress up. As a girl I hated dressing up, much to my mother’s chagrin both my sister and I were tomboys. That has changed, now I am huge fan of putting on a pretty dress, lovely shoes and fabulous jewelry and heading out to the symphony, dinner or a jazz club. And since I care about fair trade and ethically made clothing it seems to make sense that I should focus on dressing up for a fair trade and ethical date night!

Check out these beautiful pieces that you can wear on your fair trade and ethical date night!!

Seven Hopes United 31 Bits Petunia Necklace People Tree Eloise Stretch Bodycon Dress Bulbul Pump at found on Fashioning Change

Fair Trade Gifts