Image from wesleying.org
Until last year, I’d never had s’mores. (gasp!)
S’mores are one of those things that we vegetarians virtually never can partake. So, when everyone else is huddled around a fire pit happily toasting their marshmallows on a stick, we are trying to balance some dark chocolate on a stick to heat it up and sandwich it between the graham crackers – sans ‘mallow (don’t tell me I’m the only one who has done this).
The reason we vegetarians (especially vegans!) don’t get to join the s’more making parties is because marshmallows have 2 key ingredients that don’t work in the veg/vegan way – gelatin and (for the vegans) egg whites. And without those two ingredients, it’s REALLY (and I mean really) hard to create the perfect texture and flavor of the marshmallow.
After going years and years without rice krispy treats, rocky road, or s’mores, I finally went on the mighty quest for the ultimate vegetarian marshmallow (chronicled here and here). I tried a number of varieties and finally found marshmallow perfection in the form of Sweet & Sara. S&S has literally perfected the vegetarian marshmallow and – dare I say it? – it is even better than a “real” marshmallow (your non-veg friends will never know the difference – they’ll just know they are having a super gourmet marshmallow). S&S’s ‘mallows are light, fluffy, perfectly textured morsels of gooey goodness that melt just right when making a krispy treat, hold up in a cup of hot chocolate and melt into spectacular s’mores.
I also have to keep plugging for S&S. I’ve been following her on FB and Twitter for a while. Not only do I love what she stands for and her business ethics, I also love how down to earth she is. She replies to tweets, responds to Facebook messages and signs each order invoice. She’s a super cool, normal vegan person who is making our vegetarian culinary lives that much better. Thank you, S&S for giving me the opportunity to taste the delightful concoction that are s’mores!
Sweet & Sara Marshmallows
How to make s’mores:
- Put your marshmallow on a stick
- Toast it over an open fire (or cheat and microwave it for 30 seconds)
- Smash the hot marshmallow in between two graham crackers with a square of chocolate (I prefer 70% swiss dark and even a smear of peanut butter on the cracker!)
- Eat, being careful not to burn your tongue on the sticky ‘mallow. (Note: This is a very messy process, so just go with it, smear the chocolate all over your face and go ahead and lick your fingers. There are no manners with s’mores)
And now…. Because I just can’t keep this delicious goodness to myself, I want to pass the happiness on to YOU – my very special and kind readers – just as a thank you for reading my (somewhat sporadic) blog. And what better time than now as we move into summer and camping season?
I’m giving away Sweet & Sara marshmallows!
How to enter:
- Comment on this blog post (Make sure to use your real email address so I can contact you later. Don’t worry, it won’t be posted for anyone else to see and I promise not to ‘spam’ you!)
- Get additional entries by 1) Telling your friends by re-posting on your own Facebook page or blog OR 2) Liking my Facebook page and/or Following me on Twitter. Once you posted, liked, friended, followed, or whatever you did – come back and add an additional comment for each instance, telling me where you posted about the giveaway. I’ll randomly pick one lucky winner and send you a box of S&S marshmallows.
The giveaway contest will end next Wednesday (5/18) night at midnight, pacific time. All comments must be entered by that time and a comment will be randomly selected as our winner.
Good luck, and happy s’mores!!!
And the winner is…..
Comment #7 – Janice - who says, “oh, wow, I’ve never heard of VEGAN marshmallows. I wonder how they taste “differently”.”
Congrats, Janice. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
