Keith, Dan, Ryan

Greetings Race Fans!

It is now common knowledge that the world is going to end in two years (2012).  Those of us lucky enough to be representatives for Team Dandies feel that for Dandies to continue in a post apocalyptic world we need to be strong mentally and physically.  While we train for this on a daily basis it is good to get outside the walls of the CSD compound to be challenged in new ways.  When we heard about the Warrior Dash (warriordash.com) we knew there could be no better test for the challenges of 2012.  This 3.1 mile course in Joliet, IL offered more than a few obstacles.  Giant mud pits, barbed wire, cargo nets, walls, hay bails, tires, cars to jump over, predators….you get the idea.

Team Dandies had a great showing, and congratulations to Keith Woods for coming in 4^th in his age group and fourth is his heat averaging just over a 6min mile, which is sick considering the terrain AND obstacles.  Team Dandies had two top 10 age group finishers and Ryan, who only trains at the skate park, somehow managed to run just over a 7min mile.  How he does this with never running I have no idea, I can only assume it is the nonstop diet of Dandies and Pro Bars.  As for this esteemed writer, I showed up to the race about 5-10 min after the gun went off.  Let me tell you, there is no better feeling than passing about 200 other competitors, kicking mud in their face as I zoomed by.  I can only imagine the satisfaction I would have if I were able to compete at the Senior Olympics.  Anyway….

Race: Warrior Dash, 2010

Top Dandies Finisher: Keith Woods (4^th age group, 26 / 5246 overall)

Fuel:  Pro Bar…always Pro Bar      http://theprobar.com

Dude, why are my feet hot?

How does the A-Team make this look so easy?

While her recipe is top secret we are certain you can come up with your own variation on this delicious theme!

Maybe that was a little dramatic… More info on DC VegFest (including location, time, etc) can be found at their website.

“I’m not vegan but I am a marshmallow fan.  I happened upon your marshmallows at a local shop (W Grocer on North Avenue in Chicago) and I am hooked!!  I love the flavor and texture of the dandies.  They are so yummy and so crave-able.  Just a fan.  Keep up the good work.  Brooke”

Recipe can be found over at the original post at WholeFoodVegan.

On a side note.. I tried something similar a few weeks back by using just puffed millet as the cereal. Horrible idea! It came out just as  chewy glob. It had a great flavor but the texture just didn’t work. I love what Amy did here by mixing crunchy with chewy by using the traditional puffed rice with the untraditional puffed millet.

Do you have any variations on the classic Rice Krispies Treat recipe?

Vegan Ambrosia by Jen Rubio

Ingredients:

1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

3 bananas, sliced

1 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1 package of Dandies marshmallows

1 cup pecan pieces

12oz. Soyatoo or other vegan whipped “cream”

1 cup maraschino cherries

In a large bowl, combine mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple, bananas, coconut, marshmallows, and pecan pieces. Fold in whipped topping. Garnish with maraschino cherries. Chill overnight.

• 1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 3 bananas, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
• 1 package of Dandies marshmallows
• 1 cup pecan pieces
• 12oz. Soyatoo or other vegan whipped “cream”
• 1 cup maraschino cherries

In a large bowl, combine mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple, bananas, coconut, marshmallows, and pecan pieces. Fold in whipped topping. Garnish with maraschino cherries. Chill overnight.

• Whole Foods Midwest – all locations are carrying Dandies retail! They can usually be found in the aisle with the baking supplies (flours, cake mixes, etc).
• Whole Foods Midwest – all locations are carrying Teese retail. All four flavors are present (Mozzarella, Cheddar, Nacho & Cheddar sauce). These can all be found in the refrigerated section near the Tofu and other soy-based cheeses.
• Whole Foods Midwest – if a location has a prepared foods counter with a pizza oven they carry Teese to go on their pizzas. Highlights are Wednesdays where they have $8.99 pizza night!
• New York / New Jersey Whole Foods – many locations are carrying Dandies now! Please check the “Where To Buy” section at the Dandies website for the up-to-date list on this.
• Whole Foods Chicago – Lincoln Park – A few unique things are going on here. There’s an amazingly huge food court at this new monstrous Whole Foods. The diner spot in here is now making milkshakes with Temptation Vegan Ice Cream! The taqueria will also put Teese on their offerings on request. They don’t advertise it but if you ask they will serve it up for you.
• Whole Foods Chicago – South Loop – This location also carries Temptation Vegan Ice Cream for milk shakes! It’s also one of the few locations in the city of Chicago that carries our ice cream in pints (in the frozen section). The South Loop location also has vegan chili cheese dogs with Teese Cheddar!
• Whole Foods Chicago – Sauganash – This location is one of the others in Chicago that carries Temptation pints.

If you have a Whole Foods in your area that serves one of our products and we don’t have it listed here please let us know by using the comments below.

For our booth at this years Pitchfork Music Festival we made these.

A lot of you asked where you can buy one. For now these are staff only shirts but if they do become available we’ll definitely post about it! A little history on these shirts. Most of us at CSD are rooted in the 90s hardcore scene (particularly from the Straight Edge scene). There’s this great Midwest hardcore label Catalyst Records that made these awesome shirts that said “It’s OK Not To Drink” shirts. Catalyst has always been very close to Chicago Soydairy so we were very honored that the allowed us to make these shirts.

Next is a T-shirt we will be selling. GB X CSD shirts. Keeping with the tradition of honoring our hardcore roots we made a design for our Dandies Vegan Marshmallows based on a classic Gorilla Biscuits shirt. These will be for sale sometime in the next month.

Buttons buttons and buttons! We have never made buttons. Can you believe it? Everyone has buttons. Everyone. So we finally jumped on the bandwagon and made three different designs. Stop by our booth at Lollapalooza and we’ll give you one! Beyond giving them out at events and stuff we have not yet ironed out our plans for selling these. I’ll keep you posted.

P.S. Cell phone pic = sometimes blurry. Sorry!

Finally we have one more T-Shirt that we’re very proud to present. I’ll let it speak for itself.

We can’t wait to have these for sale! I’ll keep you all posted when the day comes.

In the meantime please stop by our booth if you’re attending Lollapalooza in Chicago next weekend and say hi, pick up some Temptation Vegan Ice Cream cones and grab a button!

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If you want more up-to-the-minute info from Chicago Soydairy don’t forget to follow us on the Twitter! We like to kick it there in 140 characters or less.

It’s been a bit since she posted this and I’ve yet to find the time to pull it off. Maybe I’m saving it for a special occasion. All I know is I can’t wait to try it.

Seriously.. Avocado and Dandies? Dreamy!

Head on over to BitterSweet for the recipe. Let us know what you think via the comments below.