New Page New Blog! :c)

I'll be posting at strawberryhedgehog.com/blog from now on so please change your bookmarks. :c) Thanks!!

Mark your calendar & head to Scottsdale!

WHAT: Post-Holiday Farmer's Market!

WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 9th from 9AM-3PM

WHERE: Basha's Grocery Store Parking Lot in Scottsdale (8423 E. McDonald Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85251) [Map]

WHY: I have some great holiday products that I need to clear out including holiday soap scents of Candy Cane, Peace (lavender-ylang ylang-patchouli), juniper berry, teaberry-orange, and nutmeg-lime! Great prices you can't get online and an excuse to come out and chat and meet other local vendors. As hard as I try to describe scents online there is nothing like the genuine article, come sniff to your little heart's content and e-mail me if you want to place a special order for pick-up to save on shipping.

WHAT TO BRING: Bring cash as most local vendors at these events (including myself!) cannot accept credit cards on site.

I hope to see you this Saturday. Be there or be square!

(one of the) National Cupcake Day(s)!

It appears there are several "National Cupcake Day"s, one in Sept., one in Oct., and now one TODAY! Why not? Everyone needs another day to celebrate cupcakes, right?? It had never even occurred to me to make cupcakes until my dear brother in law, Rob, bought me Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World! He also gave me a cupcake pan, how sweet is that?? Anyway, once I took a look at this book it blew my mind and cupcakes of all sorts began churning out of my kitchen. If you do not have this book I highly recommend it. The recipes are fantastic and easily adjusted to your specific needs with lots of ideas on adjustments and AMAZING photos for inspiration. Put it on your holiday gift list for any foodies in your life. If you are doing homemade gifts for the holidays consider making mini-cupcakes, they are adorable and were a big hit with my family last year. :c) It is easy to make up a big batch of vanilla batter and a couple of frostings then add in goodies to make a variety of cupcakes for each person (chocolate chips, extracts, citrus zest, nuts, etc).

In honor of today's cupcakey goodness click here to view some of my favorites.

mini almond-vanilla bean cupcakes (James' favorite)

coconut cupcakes (awesome winter "snowball" cupcake!)

chocolate chip cupcakes (my favorite)

creme de menthe fudgey cupcakes (impressive fancy pants cupcake)

Click here to view all of my cupcake posts!

Happy National Cupcake Day! :c)

Last Farmer's Market of the Year!

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Basha's Farmer's Market in Gold Canyon
Saturday 12/12/09 8am-1pm
5311 S. Superstition Mtn. Dr.
Gold Canyon, AZ 85219

Tomorrow morning is the very last chance for you to get Strawberry Hedgehog goodies this year! Our online shop is closed so the existing holiday orders can be made and shipped out in time. I will have all sorts of wonderful soaps available, including holiday exclusives peppermint-hot cocoa, candy cane, peace, pumpkin spice, cinnamon-citrus along with many of our classic aromatherapeutic scents! Our sweet orange-clove soy candles will also be available and a handful of great green accessories previously offered on HipGreenDeals. I hope to see you for some great deals and to wish you a happy holiday!

To get there take the 60 East from Phoenix out past Apache Junction (like you would to get to the Renaissance Festival or to hike in the Superstition Mountains). The Basha's will be on the North side of the road toward the mountains.

going back to cali

Ok.. so I'm not really going anywhere, but my soap is! I have been working hard on expanding my wholesale market here in the Phoenix area and low and behold, an awesome eco-conscious boutique, Primrose Organics Salon & Boutique, in LA contacted me to get in on the bulk soap action. I am thrilled to have my soaps offered in this adorable shop as they are not only super cute but also highly dedicated to the health of their clients as well as the planet.

Primrose Organics is now carrying six scents of Strawberry Hedgehog soaps, several of which are not available online. They include:

* zesty citrus
* cedar-sage
* sweet orange-clove
* lavender-lemon
* patchouli-orange
* eucalyptus-lime

From their site:

Primrose Organics Salon is an eco-friendly full-service salon, focused on sustainability in both its products and practices. The salon opened in April 2009 and is located in Los Feliz, California. Primrose Organics Salon offers high-quality hair and skin salon services in a relaxing, positive, and environmentally conscious environment. The salon is staffed by skilled and experienced hair stylists and estheticians.

Upon walking into Primrose Organic Salon, it is immediately different: no harsh chemical smells. The salon uses and carries organic and eco-friendly hair and skin products. The blow dryers used for styling are energy efficient. The hair foils used for color treatments are made from recycled foil. "There's a lot of little things we try to do every day," said founding partner Felicia Howe.

The commitment to be environmentally friendly is a universal priority. The business space was built using recycled and environmentally friendly materials. The drywall is secured with formeldehyde-free compound; the walls are painted with VOC-free paint. All furniture was purchased used from Craigslist, donated, or otherwise recycled. The building was also outfitted with energy-efficient hot water heating and lighting. "We really want to do our best to leave less of a footprint," Howe said.

TUESDAY - FRIDAY | 10pm-8pm
SATURDAYS | 10am-6pm

4616 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323 | 664 | 5446

Check out their website, www.primroseorganics.com

I hope you will stop by when you are in the area. Please let me know what you think when you do!

Great News & upcoming events

I dropped 5 large bricks of bulk soap off at the Chandler Whole Foods this morning. James and I celebrated with a tasty vegan dinner at Green and then went to see the display. Katerina and the other awesome folks in the Whole Body section had made a beautiful display of my bars and I was so giddy I could hardly contain myself. They let us snap a few shots and I tried not to dance all over the place but I could not stop grinning. Please stop by and check them out! I would love for other Whole Foods to carry them and to be a consistent vendor for them so if you love my soap please show your support and go buy some. It is a great deal, just $1.50 per ounce and you can cut smaller bars than I offer (stocking stuffers anyone??) not to mention you don't have to pay shipping! Stop by the Ray Rd. & 101 location and check out my soaps, be sure to tell them how much you love them ;c)

In other good news, I have some events coming up!

Basha's Farmer's Markets:
Dec. 12th: Gold Canyon (5311 S. Superstition Mtn. Dr., Gold Canyon, AZ 85219)
Jan. 9th: Scottsdale (8423 E. McDonald Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85251)
Jan. 16th: Maricopa (21044 N. John Wayne Parkway, Maricopa, AZ 85239)

Buy Local Week!
To Celebrate Buy Local Week, put on by Local First AZ, I will be offering FREE shipping for all orders over $50 in Arizona between Nov. 27th-Dec. 4th! Read more about Buy Local Week and find great deals from local vendors.

finally! the perfect pumpkin pie

As you can tell from my lack of foody posts I have been lacking in creativity in the kitchen. Poor James has had to put up with a monotonous menu of spaghetti, spaghetti, chili, beans, more spaghetti, lots of toast, and lots of potato fry ups.. when we aren't wasting our money on bad take-out. I've been putting a lot of energy and creativity into my soaps with much, welcomed success but some how it is like I have overdrawn the inspiration-bank and my food ideas are lack-luster.

Yesterday I was brainstorming simple things to bring to Thanksgiving at my in-laws.. a modified version of my grandma's tea biscuits, maybe my pumpkin-spice cupcakes.. and then it happened, I saw a post from my fellow blogger, Foodeater, from 'To Live and Eat in LA'. Vegan pumpkin pie that sounded easy and looked amazing. I was skeptical, had it been any other site I would not have trusted it.. I have never had good vegan pumpkin pie in all of my years without dairy and eggs. I adore her blog though and so I gave it a shot. It was super easy and tastes FANTASTIC. This is a new classic for holidays for me. I got it started last night and may have had a piece (or two... or three!) for brunch. :c)

perfect pumpkin pie (slightly adjusted from Peta's Pumpkin ‘Cheesecake’ as posted on To Live & Eat in LA)
14 oz firm silken tofu, pureed
8 oz nondairy cream cheese (I used Tofutti)
1 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 prepared pie crust (I used the super cheapy frozen kind from Walmart, it contains no animal ingredients)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Puree all the ingredients in a blender or food processor (I just pureed the tofu and then whisked the rest together). Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes. Allow to cool for 30 minutes, cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight before serving. Makes 8 servings.