I love Portland! We have so many vegan eateries and the amount seems to grow everyday. Recently I was able to taste some baked goods from a new bakery in town. Cherry Bomb Bakery has been functioning out of Cellar Door Coffee for the past month, providing tasty treats for patrons at The Red and Black Cafe, Veganopolis and starting this week at The Alberta Cooperative Grocery. Cherry Bomb Bakery is run by a busy mother of two, named Marissa. She is currently finishing her Masters in Business and hopes to one day open a retail store. We talked extensively behind her passion for baking and how she views her pastries as her contribution to spreading the word about veganism. We spoke of the vegan bubble that many vegans in Portland seem to have and her desire to break out of it and reach non-vegans with her products.

The bakery menu is huge with 9-10 varieties of cheesecake, 8-9 cupcakes along with muffins, scones, cookies, fudge and even lemon squares! I was lucky enough to try a couple different pastries.

We met at the new Cellar Door Coffee Shop located on 2001 SE 11th. Cellar Door roasts their own coffee and was a great compliment to the deserts. I started out with a slice of strawberry cheesecake; Marisa explained that she worked on her cheesecake recipe for 10 months! She was determined to make a cheesecake recipe that didn’t include tofu. The first bite was amazing, smooth, sweet and tart but all in perfect harmony. Several bites in I found part of a whole strawberry! The crust, made of a homemade shortbread cookie, was light but crunchy and added a perfect texture to the slice.

The next thing I tried was a Chocolate Mint Cupcake, it reminded me of those Thin Mint cookies I would eat as a kid. These cupcakes are huge; imagine a normal cupcake multiple the size by three and that’s the size of these cupcakes! The cupcake was perfect, moist and chocolaty, complete with a perfect blend of mint and chocolate. I wasn’t even able to eat the whole thing between that and the cheesecake!

She sent me home with almost a whole cheesecake and my partner and I have been devouring it since. Marissa will be attending the vegan potluck... giving you a chance to taste some of her amazing food! For a complete list of what is available visit http://www.cherrybombbakery.com. Cherry Bomb Bakery is taking orders online as well as over the phone.

Aw tofu, the meat of the vegan world. With the ability to become and taste like almost anything and packed with nutrients; tofu is an important part of a vegan diet. My boyfriend who works at Whole Foods and keeps me up to date on new food and Portland staples I need to try. One of these Portland staple foods is Papa G’s.

The first time I bought Papa G’s... I was waiting in line, tofu in hand and the counterperson says “Isn’t that the BEST tofu ever?” suddenly the person behind me chimes in “OMG! I cant live without that stuff!” Before I knew it, I had learned Papa G’s is a local company, the original flavor is best, the seasonings is a secret recipe which isn’t listed on their packages and cold is the recommended way to eat it. Now if any of you know tofu, straight from the package and cold isn’t normally suggested. So I went home, sliced open the pack and took the first bite; I was in heaven! Everything I had known about the texture and taste of tofu was out the window, I kept trying to figure out what it tasted like and couldn’t come up with anything but “really good.”

Papa G’s is awesome cooked into things also, I have been known to cut it up and put it in rice, or pasta sauce! This really is the best tofu on planet and if you see me in the grocery store, I will most likely be holding several packages of Papa G’s. On a side note, I have heard they will be opening a hot bar in SE sometime soon. Ill attempt to keep everyone posted for that!

With winter upon us the epic journey to find the perfect jacket begins. Long, waterproof, soft, insulated, good price and most of all vegan friendly was the priorities I had when I set out to find my perfect coat. After searching online and off, my boyfriend suggested Spiewak jackets. Spiewak & Son's have been making jackets since 1904; it all started with mariner jackets in New York and then moved to supplying the military personals in WWI and WWII. While they still provide jackets for police and other agencies they have opened up a new line for civilians that is fresh, in-style all the while following the company’s commitment to durability and functionality.

The majority of Spiewak’s jackets do contain down material and wool, but there are several options that are vegan friendly. The Cunningham Parka was one of these, with two colors to choose from, brown and grey, you can’t go wrong. The coat specs are as followed; fabric is High-density oxford with the lining made of Taffeta quilted to Thinsulate. The jacket sports Permaloft, Permloft is as warm and soft as down, highly water resistant (will dry and not mold like down) and best of all none of our feathered friends were harmed in the making. With a long feminine cut, ample pockets (lined in felt), and hood there isn’t a better jacket out there! To view their collection you can visit their website at spiewak.com. To buy, check out Local 35 (3556 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland 97214) or check the Spiewak site for coat specific retailers.

I never liked candy bars before I was vegan, so when I found out most candy bars have animal products or made by companies who use animal testing I really wasn’t too upset. However, there seems to be something about knowing you can't have it that makes you crave it so much more. The solution to this dilemma is a candy bar named Peanut Chews. Six bite size pieces into one package, making them the best candy bar pre and post vegan. The peanuts are somewhere between mashed and chunky and dipped in dark chocolate (the milk chocolate are NOT vegan.) These babies can be hard to find so check out their website or buy them at the only place I could find in the city; Music Millennium.

Field Roast is a fairly new brand of faux meats; in 2006 they received the Proggy Award from PETA for the best new Faux-Meat Product. Some of you Portlanders may have seen their table at the Vegan Holiday Festival last month, and if you tasted one of their samples then you know how yummy their sausages really are.

I’ve never been a fan of Tofurkey brand sausages even with cooking them several different ways. The only way I really can stomach them is to cook them into something like lasagna or pasta (lots of sauce!) so when I came across the Field Roast brand of sausages I gave them a try. I choose to take the Italian Sausage out of the total of three fairly unconventional flavors to choose from; Italian, Mexican Chipotle, and Smoked Apple Sage. Over the course of the week, when I tried them on a bun they were awesome, when I sautéed them with bell peppers I loved them; this was the first vegan sausage I wanted to eat plain!

My only complaint was that the many of the flavors of sausages and even the celebration roast all seemed to taste the same, while my housemate’s complaint that they tasted too “grainy.” However, Field Roast labels their products as a grain meat which would describe the strong “grainy” taste and possibly the similarity of taste between products.